THE FATED
by EndlessPossibilities57
Summary: If a character found their way to the real world, would you automatically believe they were good-hearted just like they were in their series? When Spyro and his friends make their way to our world to forge friendships, it all seems great. But when a small group discovers the horrifying truth, the fate of the world will rest in their hands. When darkness falls, the Fated will rise.
1. Prologue: a war long forgotten

PROLOGUE: A WAR LONG FORGOTTEN

* * *

_War._

_War is a universal constant._

_History has taught us that the ideologies of one party, can often clash _violently _with those of another._

_Sometimes wars can start as disagreements between nations, but end up devolving into something much worse; other times they begin because someone wanted power, and they didn't care who they had to step on to get it._

_Wars begin because oppressed people decided to fight for their freedom.  
_

_Sometimes a neutral party to an ongoing war can be attacked, throwing them into a war they had no part in._

_Sometimes, an old war, one from ages past, can have repercussions long after it ended; sometimes, horrors best left in the pages of history find a way to incur themselves upon an unsuspecting populace once more._

_ In conflict, lives are lost, homes are destroyed, families separated and children orphaned, all the while death and destruction rage on unhindered._

_These are constants. You can try as hard as you might; fight as tough as you can to keep the peace. But in the end, it won't mean a damn thing._

_Because no matter what, there's no escaping war...not forever._

* * *

People ran for their lives as buildings, and debris came crashing down onto the streets of Manhatten. It was chaos, everywhere you looked you could see cars burning, rubble littering the streets, buildings in ruin, _and_ on fire. Smoke from the countless fires rose into the sky; making it hard for sunlight to filter through. The screams of everyone caught in the middle of this battle could be heard for miles and miles. And the ones responsible for all the pain and suffering, the ones responsible for all the death and destruction, continued their assault on our world. The dragons.

Down in the remains of times square, we see a group of eight remarkable people, facing off against Spyro, Cynder, and several other dragons trying to destroy our world.

In a sinister voice, Spyro spoke to one of the eight. "Give it up Jace, the human race is finished; humanity will not live to see the next sunrise. This is one war humanity will _not_ win."

Jace responded to Spyro's comment. "WE'RE _NOT_ GONNA LET YOU DESTROY OUR WORLD, WE WILL DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO _STOP_ YOU!"

Cynder spoke to the eight in a mocking voice. "Oh, it's so _cute_ that you think you can save your world: Jace, Issac, Maddy, Amber, Vanessa, Pryce, Kent, Amy." She spoke aloud the names of each of the eight as she looked at them. "But the truth is, you _can't,_ humanity will fade away into the midst of time; everyone will forget you even existed, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Spyro let out an impatient groan and spoke. "Uh, what do you say we get this over with shall we." All the dragons got into a fighting stance, and the eight prepared to fight them off.

"WAIT!" Jace shouted as he put his arms out to halt everyone. "I have the perfect tune for this." He said nonchalantly as he pulled out his phone. He pushed a few buttons and the Avengers theme started to play.

"Oh please, you're not the Avengers, you can't stop us." Scoffed Tsunami.

Jace replied to the Seawings comment. "You're right, we're _not_ the Avengers...we're way better. We are the ones that drive _fear_ into your hearts, we are the ones you have _dreaded_ for eons, we are the ones that can take you down. Because _we_ are the _FATED!_"

* * *

"I bet you're probably wondering how things led up to this, huh? Well to answer that question, we'll have to start at the beginning."

* * *

It was night as droplets of rain came crashing down onto a peaceful forest floor. That peace, however, was quickly disrupted as a man ran through the dense underbrush trying to escape his pursuers. He could hear his enemies chase after him as he ran. He dared a look back and saw flashes of purple and gold, and black and magenta.

In his haste, he tripped on a root and fell into a puddle; getting covered in muddy water. It was then that he saw it, a small cave where he could hide. Scrambling to his feet, he pulled himself out of the puddle and ran to the cave. Upon reaching the cave mouth, he quickly pulled himself inside and narrowly escaped being seen by the black one. Crawling to the edge of the cave, he pulled a cylindrical device out of his bag and hid it among a group of stalagmites. Pulling out his phone(which thankfully didn't get wet) he started recording.

It was then that we finally get a good look at him, he was a middle-aged man with bronze skin, messy black hair, brown eyes, black pants, and a torn brown shirt. In a shaky voice, he spoke. "This is Anthony Richardson, and this is a warning to any other human that is unlucky enough to find themselves in this world. If you find this message then GET OUT OF HERE, DON'T TRUST THE DRAGONS, DON'T LET THEM FIND EARTH, THEY _WILL_ DESTROY US ALL IF THEY FIND A WAY TO OUR WORLD, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...!" He was cut off as he was quickly dragged out of the cave and a male voice spoke.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Anthony looked up at his captor and locked eyes with Spyro the dragon. Anthony looked up in fear as Spyro growled threateningly at him. In a demanding voice, Spyro shouted. "WHERE IS IT, TELL ME, NOW!"

Swallowing his fears and acting as confident as he could, Anthony replied. "I'd rather _die_ than tell you.!"

"That can be arranged." Came the voice of a female. Anthony looked to see Cynder approaching him. He watched her as she spoke. "Tell us where the device is, Anthony." She said in a degrading voice. "We can not allow that device you have to fall into human hands! We can not allow your ilk to rise again!"

Anthony looked at both of them then shouted. "YOUR INSANE IF YOU THINK I'LL HELP YOU, YOU ARE _NEVER_ GOING TO FIND IT, YOU CAN TORTURE ME ALL YOU WANT, BUT I WILL _NEVER_ TELL YOU!"

"really? Well, I think you'll find that we can be very..._persuasive!"_ She said ominously. Right after she said that a big Mudwing came crashing through the trees, earning the attention of Spyro and Cynder. Addressing the Mudwing, Cynder spoke, "Clay, will you please take the prisoner to the interrogation room, we _need_ to know where he hid the device." She told him.

Nodding in response, clay walked forward and clamped his teeth down on Anthony's shirt. Lifting him off the ground, Clay walked off with the man, his screams of protest dying as they faded from sight.

Cynder spoke up. "Infiscape better hurry up and get us into their world as they promised."

"they will, we just have to wait a little while longer till they give the go-ahead. Then we can tear apart their world and deny them the chance to rise again." Spyro said encouragingly.

They started to walk away, but unbeknownst to them, the video was still recording.

As they left the area, Cynder stated the obvious. "Of course, their gonna fight back; they aren't going to just _let us _destroy their world, they won't be able to _stop__ us_, but they'll still try."

Spyro glanced at her, then scoffed. "Please, I'd welcome the challenge, I wanna see the looks on their faces when they realize they can't beat us. Let them come, just let them _try_ and stop us." Spyro said, a gleam in his eyes.

* * *

**This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now, I'm excited for the Fated. Characters like Spyro and the dragonets of destiny are usually seen as the good guys. But I've been wanting to see how they'd fare as the antagonists, to see them conspiring against humanity. I've looked, but have just not found what I've been looking for.**

**I really hope you like the Fated.**


	2. Darkness in angle springs

**The platform I use to write with won't let me make Em dashes, so I improvised with a couple of hyphens.**

* * *

ACT 1: DISCOVERIES

* * *

DARKNESS IN ANGLE SPRINGS

* * *

The cold winter air bit at Jace alexanders face as he stood outside the Infiscape Tech headquarters. As he stood there, he watched people come to and fro, going about their daily lives without a care in the world. They didn't even know what was going on right under their noses. Although to be fair, Jace didn't know exactly what was going on either. What he _did_ know, was that something strange was going on in their small town of Angle Springs; and he had a hunch that Infiscape was connected somehow.

Stepping forward, he crossed the street and headed for the building. It had a modern design, with the main building having an oval shape with what could only be described as fins jutting out of the roof and the sides. It also had large glass ceilings that mimicked cresting waves.

Stepping into the parking lot, he navigated his way through the sea of cars until he found himself at the building's front entrance. Approaching the glass doors, he reached for the handle but found himself hesitant to open it. Here he was, right outside Infiscape, and he choked. He had been looking into Infiscape for a long time now; he _knew_ that they had something to do with all those missing people. he couldn't chicken out now, not when he was so close.

Taking a deep breath, he reached for the handle once more and pulled the first set of doors open. Upon entering, he was hit with a blast of warm air. He wiped his feet on the matt; to not track in the snow. passing through the second set of doors, he made his way down a short hallway that opened up into a waiting area. Continuing forward, he headed for the help desk at the edge of the waiting room.

He arrived at the help desk to find there was no one there. Sticking his head through the window, he peered around at the area behind the desk. There was a computer and a keyboard, surrounded by pens, paper, staples, and other office supplies. There was also a small ukulele propped up against the wall; guess the person that worked here was into music.

Pulling his head back, Jace rang the bell a couple of times and waited for an employe to show up. After a few moments of waiting, a man wearing a lab coat strolled up to the desk. He had combed back hair and wore a pair of glasses on his face. He also had two different colored eyes, heterochromia, Jace believed it was called.

"Can I help you?" The man asked in an English accent.

Jace looked at the name tag on the man's coat. "Hello Kent, um yes I'm here because I was hoping to get an application form." He lied. He didn't need the form, but it would look better if he had a reason to be here that wasn't so suspicious.

"I can do that," Kent said before turning around and grabbing a piece of paper out of a bin, and grabbing a pen from a cup. Handing the two items to Jace, he then pointed to the waiting area. "You can fill out the form over there." He said.

Thanking the man, Jace took the items and headed over to the indicated area. it was a medium-sized space, with a bench against one wall, and another bench on the opposite wall. As well as several chairs and potted plants here and there. In the middle of the room sat a coffee table that had dozens of magazines scattered all over it. In the back, there was a beverage station and a snack bar, as well as a tv affixed to the wall.

On one of the benches, a man wearing an unzipped coat sat playing a Nintendo Switch. Sitting down on the bench opposite him, Jace took out his form and pretended to fill it out. He envisioned his plan in his head as he sat there doodling on the paper. First, he would wait till the coast was clear then he would head off and find the main servers. Once there, he would dig up any dirt on Infiscape that he could find, as well as see if he could find those missing people. But he had to be careful because if he got caught...well, then all of this would have been for nothing.

"_I suppose I could claim that I was just looking for the restroom and got lost?" _He told himself.

"You're so lucky!" Came a voice.

Looking away from the form, Jace searched the room for who could have spoken and his eyes fell on the man across from him. "Did you say something?" Jace called to the man.

Looking up from his Switch, the man spoke again. "Yeah, I said you're so lucky."

"What for?" Jace asked with confusion plastered on his face.

The man was about to reply but instead chose to get up from his seat and join Jace on his side. Sitting down on the other side of the bench. The man looked to face Jace and spoke with an envious air about him. "That you get to _live_ in this town, the place where the dragons first showed up!"

Jace knew where this was going. Their small New York town had garnered a lot of attention as of late. First, Infiscape set up their headquarters just outside the city limits about nine years ago. And that brought some attention down on Angle Springs, but it was nothing compared to recent events. Three months ago, Infiscape opened a portal to another world, and through that portal came figures that the world thought were fictional. Characters from fandoms like Spyro, and wings of fire, came streaming into our world.

They had tried to open a portal to our world a long time ago, but because there was no gate on our side, the connection could not be made. So in an attempt to reach out to us, they sent a message through the portal in the direction of Earth. But it didn't go as planned, the message _did_ reach Earth, but it was weak and only a few people heard it. Those that did hear it misinterpreted the message for what it truly was, instead believing they had an idea for a series. And it was then that around these "ideas" that some lucrative franchises were built.

And when compared to the real things, the two different franchises were highly inaccurate. For one, the events of the games, and books did not happen. And the "bad guys" were not evil; in fact, some of them seemed quite friendly. And instead of coming from two different worlds, they all lived on the same planet.

And you would think the dragons from the Spyro franchise would take more after the original trilogy, but instead, they more resemble the "Legend" incarnation, respectively.

It wasn't until Infiscape built a gateway on our end that the two worlds were finally bridged. And since then, the dragons and their allies have been going around forming alliances with humanity. Meeting with world leaders, appearing on news and talk shows, and forging friendships with our world.

And that brought them back to their current situation. Due to the emergence of the dragons, Fanboys and Fangirls have been flocking to their little town to hopefully catch a glimpse; or even meet, some of their favorite characters, such as Spyro the dragon, or Sunny the Sandwing.

Suddenly the man grunted and shook his head. "I'm so sorry, where are my manners!" He held out his hand for Jace to take it. "The names Pryce, Pryce Burns!"

Letting a small smirk form on his face, Jace took the mans' hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Pryce. My name is Jace."

Having introduced himself, Pryce continued their earlier conversation. "I'm on a trip from London, visiting my cousin that works here at Infiscape."

Jace quickly put two and two together. "You mean the English guy over there?" Jace indicated with his head in the direction of the help desk.

"Yeah, that's him. Kent French. I got so jealous when he was offered this job two months ago. He got to come and live right where they first appeared; I wish _I_ could live here! My life would be perfect, maybe I could even meet some of my favorite characters! I bet that nothing could go wrong in _this_ town!" He finished wishfully.

"Yeah, not so sure about that!" Jace said to himself quietly.

But he didn't say it quietly enough, because Pryce picked up what he said and inquired about it. "What'd you say?"

Glancing around to make sure nobody was nearby listing; Jace leaned in close to Pryce and spoke in a hushed voice. "Since you first arrived here, have you or your cousin noticed anything _strange_?"

"No? Strange how?" Pryce asked confused.

He once again checked to make sure nobody was listening before continuing. "People have been disappearing!"

"What?"

Meeting Pryce's shocked eyes, Jace elaborated on his statement. "It all began recently, at first, it was only one or two people that disappeared. But then more and more people started to vanish, without a trace. And what's worse, is that not many of the town's citizens believe these people are actually "missing," choosing to instead believe they left this town of their own volition!"

"Well, maybe they did, maybe they decided they didn't like the presence of the dragons?" Pryce tried to reason.

But Jace only shook his head. "No! That's a load of garbage! These people aren't leaving, they're being kidnapped!

"But how do you know?" Pryce asked.

"Because I've found things that support it!" Jace stated. "About a month ago, a guy I knew disappeared; everybody said he left, but I didn't believe that. So I went to his house and I found that his car was still there; if he was leaving, don't you'd think he'd take his car?" He always left his backdoor unlocked just in case, so I made my way around back and went in the house. Once inside, I noticed that _all_ of his stuff was still there: he didn't take his wallet, didn't pack his clothes, didn't take his passport, didn't take anything. He just up and vanished!"

At this point, Pryce was starting to buy-into what Jace was telling him. "What do you think is happening?" He asked.

"Well, that's why I'm here, I have a feeling that Infiscape has something to do with it. And there's also the fact that most of the disappearances started about three months ago, right when the dragons first showed up." Jace told him.

"You think they have something to do with it?" Pryce asked, his voice laced with shock and surprise.

"I've considered the possibility," Jace admitted.

"You _really_ think they could be behind this!" He went again, this time almost yelling from shock.

Jace's hand quickly shot up and covered Pryce's mouth. "Be quiet!" He hissed. "Do you _want_ to attract their attention, because that would be bad!"

"Sorry." Pryce apologized. "So, what're you gonna do?"

Reaching into his pocket, Jace pulled out a map and showed it to Pryce. "I downloaded a map of the building's interior off the internet. I'll use it to navigate my way to the server room. Once there, I'll access a computer terminal and see what I can pull up about their connection to all this stuff that's going on."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Pryce asked him.

Jace thought for a moment. "Well, I guess you could distract your cousin over there so I could slip past him?" He suggested.

Pryce just sat there for a second as if contemplating what Jace asked. After a moment, he slowly started to nod his head. "Okay, I'll do it!"

As Jace started to stand up; Pryce stopped him. Grabbing a magazine off the coffee table, he tore a piece of paper off of it and wrote something down with the pen Jace had. Once he had finished, he folded up the paper and handed it to Jace. Taking the paper, Jace opened it up to find he had written down some numbers. "That's my phone number, if you find something and need to tell someone, I can help. And if you give me your number, I can call you if I notice anything out of the ordinary." Pryce told him.

Complying with what Pryce had asked, Jace tore some paper off a magazine and wrote his number down for Pryce. Handing it to Pryce, the two got up from the bench as they prepared to enact their plan.

Jace walked to the edge of the waiting room as he watched Pryce close the gap between him and the help desk. Before getting the attention of his cousin, Pryce looked at Jace and waited for him to give the go-ahead. Seeing this, Jace nodded.

Ringing the bell at the help desk, Pryce began to distract Kent so that Jace could sneak by.

Sticking to the wall, the help desk situated to his left. He ducked down and slowly made his way across the room to the double doors that led into the building beyond. Reaching the doors; he pushed on the handle and carefully opened it to not attract attention. Passing through the doorway; he carefully closed the door behind him.

Now safe behind the closed doors, he looked ahead at the hallway in front of him. Both the walls and the ceiling were a pristine white; the floors probably would be too, but all the years of people walking back and forth had left them dull and dirty.

making his way forward (his shoes squeaking on the tiled floor) he made his way to the server room. After walking down the hall for a little while, he came across a fork in the hallway. He could either go right or straight; pulling out his map, he checked it to find the right way to go. Going over the map, he followed the layout to the server room; first, he would go right, then he would take a left and go to the stairwell at the end of the hall, he would go up the stairs and his destination would be right in front of him.

Putting his map away, he began to turn around the corner but suddenly ducked back behind the wall. Giving himself a moment to catch his breath, he slowly peeked back down the hall. Security cameras, how could he forget the security cameras? Throwing up his hood, he ducked his head down and stepped back out into the hall.

Keeping his head down, he walked down the hall as calmly as possible. As he walked, he watched his shadow below him; the lights above making it copy his every move. He was surprised at how easy it was so far; where was everybody? He looked up ever so slightly and scanned the hallways; there was no one. Wherever everybody was, it didn't matter as soon as he came upon the left turn. Turning the corner, he broke out into a small jog and closed the distance between him and the stairs.

Reaching the end of the hall, he grabbed the handle for the stairwell door and pulled it open. Stepping into the gray interior, he pulled the door shut behind him. He turned to head up the stairs, but he would only make it up a few steps before a strange whirring sound caught his attention. Peering over the handrail, he looked down at the basement level to see a strange red glow coming from beyond the open door. Letting his curiosity get the better of him; he turned around and jogged down the four flights of stairs to reach the bottom.

He arrived at the bottom to find himself being bathed in the strange red glow. As he stood there basking in the glow, the whirring noise caught his attention again.

Slowly approaching the doorway, he placed his hands on the doorframe as he took in the amazing sight. The room beyond was massive; it had large concrete walls supported by four-feet wide steel beams. Large lights hung down from the ceiling, casting the room in a soft glow. large crates and boxes were scattered all over the room; their contents a mystery to Jace. Across the room, he could see doors and stairwells that led to parts of the building unknown. And in the very center of the room, at the bottom of a large ramp- - stood a massive portal.

The portal was about twenty feet in diameter. Its outer ring was plated with titanium; while the inner ring was copper. exposed wires ran around the circumference of the portal, leading from a large power outlet behind the gateway.

Entering the room, he kept low and his behind crates for cover; while there was no one in the room now, he didn't want to chance someone entering and seeing him. Sticking to the crates, he slowly inched his way closer to the portal.

Before he could get too close; sudden activity from the portal caused him to duck down behind the crate. As he huddled there, he heard what sounded like something coming out of the portal; followed by a large gasp as it fell to the floor with a thud. the red glow covering the room ceases to exist

He had to know what came through, gaining courage, he griped the cold hard surface of the metal container and peeked over the top. There, lying on the hard floor was a human man. Jace couldn't believe it, what was an average man doing on the other side of the portal. Paying close attention to the man, Jace could tell he was in bad shape: his clothes were torn up, his bronze skin was covered in countless cuts and bruises, and it looked like he was missing a hand.

The man just laid there, as if he was dead. But after a few seconds, he began to stir. Slowly getting up on his knees, the man put his handless arm on the floor for support, as he got to his feet. Once he had stood up, Jace noticed that he was clutching something to his chest; it was a metal cylinder, and it looked like he would protect it with his life.

Now back on his feet, the man looked around nervously; making sure there was no one around. Once he looked in his direction, Jace gasped internally, was that who he thought it was?

"Mr. Richerdson?" He said under his breath.

Before he could further process who he was staring at, his and Mr. Richerdson's attentions were taken when the portal started up again, sending the room back into a red glow. Upon seeing this, Mr. Richerdson bolted up the ramp and ran up the stairwell opposite the one Jace came down. Right as he escaped Jaces view, two figures stepped out of the portal and into the room.

Peering over the crate, Jace watched the rooms, two new occupants. Now standing in front of the portal stood a Nightwing and a cheetah.

"FIND HIM, NOW!" The Nightwing screeched as they both got into action. Separating, the two ran off in different directions; the Nightwing ran down a large door near the center of the room while the cheetah ran up a flight of stairs next to the portal.

Deciding to not stick around any longer out of fear of being caught; Jace quickly ran back the way he came. Arriving back at the stairwell, he didn't wast any time hurrying back up the steps. Reaching the level he was at before, he stopped and bent over; panting as he tried to get his breath back.

Once his lungs caught up to him, he began to climb the stairs once again.

Step after step he trudged up the stairs till he reached the level his destination was on. Reaching for the door handle; he opened it just a crack and peeked through to make sure that no one was around. Once he confirmed that the coast was clear, he opened the door and carefully closed it behind him.

Now in the open hall, he closed the small gap between him and the server room. Approaching the door he swiftly opened it and slipped inside.

Inside, he let his gaze fall on the computers, in aw at their sheer size and power. Walking deeper into the room, he looked at the large computers the building ran on. It was incredible, to think that the whole place depended on these systems, to think about what they could do- - to think what secrets could be inside.

Making his way past all the hulking computer units, he crossed the room and headed for a terminal. Booting up the terminal, he tried to access the computer but found it was locked. Moving on to the next one, he tried again only to have the same result. Again and again, he tried to gain access but each time the result was the same. Abandoning the computer he was currently at; he nervously approached the last terminal in the room.

"_Please, don't let this one be locked too!" _He prayed.

Turning on the computer, he went to access the info that it held. holding his breath, he moved the cursor over to the right spot and clicked. Half expecting it to lock him out again, he breathed a sigh of relief when it gave him access. Navigating to where all the data was; he scrolled through all the articles that popped up.

He saw stuff about new projects, plans, and various other stuff. He kept scrolling until he came upon something called "Project Darius." Clicking the file he scrolled down and scanned the first few lines. As he read, a smirk began to form on his face. "Got ya!" He said triumphantly.

Inserting a small chip into the computer, he highlighted the file and downloaded it.

* * *

The first thing Issac heard was his alarm clock blaring right next to him on his nightstand. Groaning while still half asleep, he reached for his alarm clock and tried to turn it off. After trying a few times already; he finally managed to bring his hand down on the clock, ceasing it's endless bleeping.

Slowly sitting up, he rubbed the morning crust off of his eyes. Throwing off the covers; he swung his legs off the bed and stood up. Stretching out his muscles, Issac threw on his slippers and made his way to the bathroom.

Stepping into the bathroom, Issac closed the door behind him. Walking over to the toilet, he undid the knot on his PJ shorts and relieved himself. Reaching over to the shower; he turned on the nozzle to hot and let the shower warm-up. After washing his hands at the sink, he grabbed a tube of toothpaste and squirted it all over his toothbrush. Bringing the brush up to his mouth; he began to clean his teeth, the lathery foam leaking out the corners of his mouth. Spiting out the now frothy paste, he poured a small cup with mouth wash and gargled.

Having cleaned his mouth, he turned his eyes back to the shower; it's hot steam drifting up as the water ran. Striping off his Pajamas, he pulled aside the curtain and stepped inside. Stepping into the stream of hot water; he let it wash over him. Grabbing a tube of body wash; he squirted a quarter-sized amount into a rag and used it to lather himself up and wash away all the grime.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror; his black beard is in nice contrast to his tan skin.

Rinsing off all the soap, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Reaching over to the towel bar; he grabbed the said towel and used it to dry himself off. Walking out of the bathroom with the towel held tightly around his body. He walked over to his closet and picked out a pair of jeans and grabbed his black work shirt.

As he slipped on his jeans; his eyes gazed around his room. From where he stood in front of his bed; ahead of him sat his dresser with the door to the left of it. On the right side of the bed, was the closet; with the nightstand and a window to the left of it. Grabbing his belt and wallet and keys off the dresser; he put the wallet and keys in his pocket before looping the belt through his jeans and buckling it.

After throwing on his shirt, he grabbed his shoes from the foot of the bed and sat down to put them on. As he slipped on his shoes, his eyes wandered to the frosty window and the snow-laden world beyond it.

Tieing the last knot on his shoes, he stood up and walked out the door. Passing down the short hallway, he walked into the kitchen and opened the old fridge that sat there. Scanning the contents of the fridge; he looked for anything he could eat. It had been a while since he restocked the fridge; there was nothing good: a mike jug that was expired, a pickle jar with only one pickle, and a rack of condiments.

The pantry wasn't any better; with it being the same as the fridge, only with dry foods.

"I need to go to the grocery store." He said to himself.

Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter, he exited the kitchen and headed for the apartment door. Grabbing his black coat off the coat rack he slipped it on. Turning the doorknob; he pulled it open and stepped into the hall.

Isaac lived on the top floor of a small three-story apartment building. It wasn't pretty; the pipes leaked sometimes, the building and the appliances were old and janky, and the walls and carpets had seen better days. Not to mention that the building was just plain _ugly_, with its dirty use of brown and gray colored shingles, it was an eyesore to look at. But for all its flaws, it offered him and the rest of the people in his building a place to live for an affordable price.

Locking the door behind him, he walked down the hallways mint green carpet. Passing the other doors, he looked at where his neighbors lived; he had never really bothered to get to know them, choosing to focus on his own life. Approaching the stairwell; he suddenly backpedaled when a kid in his early twenties came barreling up the stairs.

Stepping aside, he let the kid pass.

Now that there was no threat of being run over, he gripped the handrail and trecked down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, he turned left and headed for the exit.

Pushing open the door, he left the warm confines of his building for the freezing outside world.

Making his way down the frozen path, he passed snow-covered hedges as he made his way to the parking lot. Once there, he passed several other cars as he crossed the lot. Approaching the back of the lot, he neared a dark blue ford ram. Walking up to the driver's side door; he put in the key and unlocked it.

Opening the door, he sat in the seat and closed the door behind him. Putting in the key, he turned it back and heard the engine roar to life. Buckling up and adjusting the mirror; a pair of fuzzy dice dangling from it. Bringing his hand up to the dashboard, he inspected his dashcam, making sure it was still on. He put the truck into reverse and backed out of his parking space. Pulling up to the exit of the parking lot; he drove forward and got on the main road.

Their small town had changed so much in the past three months. With the arrival of the dragons, their town experienced a boom in tourism and popularity, thanks to various media outlets. In the past, the streets of the town used to only be occupied by residents; but now, you could find tourists, dragons, and other creatures from the new world, all walking about the town. Driving through the streets of the town; he passed shops and restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores, all much more packed then they used to be.

Coming to a halt at a red light, he sat there waiting for traffic to get moving. As he waited, he looked out his car's driver-side window and saw a food truck off in a side lot, with a large line. The woman taking the orders was currently talking to a green Rainwing; they both seemed to be smiling. Taking its food, the Rainwing turned away; as it did so, its facial expressions went from a smile to one of disgust and hate.

Seeing this, a wave of confusion hit Isaac, Why did it make that face? What happened, did the lady say something rude? As he tried to figure out why it made that face, he noticed that the light had turned green and quickly put his foot on the gas.

Five minutes later, he pulled up to a dinner at the edge of town: The Grub and Go. The diner had a rustic look to it, with its wooden signs and walls, it felt like you were suddenly transported to the wild west.

Pulling into a spot, the truck slowly died down before he stepped out and closed the door behind him. Adjusting his clothes, he stepped forward and headed for the restaurant. Trudging through the snow, he walked up the steps leading inside.

Opening the oak door, his nose, ears, and eyes were assaulted with Plesant music, twinkling lights, and delicious aromas. The whole place was like a scene straight out of a western movie. Over in the back was the counter with the kitchen behind it, themed to look like a bar from a saloon. Scattered through the middle of the room sat several tables and chairs, with the walls being occupied by booths. Adorning the walls were western-themed pictures, their presence only helping to sell the western theme.

Passing by the booths and tables where people sat eating, he made his way to the kitchen. Walking into the back, he took off his coat and hung it up. Upon entering the kitchen, he was met with chaos as his co-workers went about making food and serving it. Heading over to the sink he washed his hands. As he did that he was greeted by one of his co-workers.

"Nice to see you show up, Isaac!" Said Gwen, a fiery-tempered redhead, and the owner.

"Hello, Gwen, what do you need me to do?" he asked.

"We have plenty of cooks, but the orders are backing up, can you take care of that?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am!" Isaac replied before heading off to grab the plates of food.

This was what he did in this job, he was always wanting to cook, but kept getting stuck with taking food to the customers. It was always the same thing, he loved to cook, and the only reason he worked this job was so he could make enough money to open his _own_ restaurant.

Grabbing a tray from the counter, he checked the number and took it to its respective table. Walking to the corner of the restaurant, he approached a table and set down the food. "here you go, one cobb salade." He said

The man at the table thanked him before he walked off. The work he did after that was all the same. Fried chicken to table five, a BLT to table twenty-seven, soup to table twelve.

He did the same thing for hours and hours. after a while business died down as it got later and later.

After the last customer left the building, only he and Gwen were left. Closing up the restaurant, Gwen was getting ready to leave as Isaac was staying back to clean up.

"You sure you got this, Isaac?" She asked him.

"I'll be alright ma'am." He told her.

With that Gwen left the building with Isaac locking it behind her.

Turning on the radio, the place was filled with music as Isaac began to work cleaning.

* * *

Outside Gwen walked down the snowy steps and crossed the empty lot heading for her car. Just as she was about to put in the key, a loud crash caught her attention. Looking in the direction of the sound, which seemed like it came from the side of the building, she cautiously approached.

"Isaac, is that you?" she called out warily. After a few seconds of waiting, she called again. "Isaac, are you there?" A few moments after she called out again, a figure slowly emerged from out of the shadows, only it wasn't Isaac, it was a Sandwing!

Recovering from the initial shock from seeing the Sandwing, She called out to it. 'Excuse me, can I help you?"

Looking in her direction, the Sandwing replied. "Yes, I came here looking for something to eat," it said in a male voice.

"Well I'm sorry to say this but we closed up, you'll have to come back tomorrow!" She apologized.

Slowly making his way toward her, he began to speak. "Oh, that's okay, that's not the food I was looking for!" He said ominously.

"What do you mean?" She asked nervously, subconsciously stepping back as the dragon approached her.

"What I mean, is that the food _I' mm _looking for is not inside that building!" He said looking at her hungrily.

Her heart dropped when the realization of what he wanted to eat hit her. Her heart thumping in her chest, she looked back the way she came; maybe if she could get Isaac to let her back in they could hold out in there till help arrived?

The Sandwing was still a distance away, if she ran for it, maybe she could make it in time. Making a mad dash; she bolted for the building's side entrance. But before she could get very far, the dragon was on her in an instant. It swiped at her legs and she was sent soaring; crashing down hard in front of Isaac's truck.

Getting on her hands and knees, she tried to scramble away, but the dragon was too fast for her. Upon her in an instant, it pined her down with its claws. Causing her to let out cries of fear as tears streamed from her eyes.

"Pl-Please, don't do t-this!" She begged. But it didn't listen.

In one last effort to get out of this, she tried calling out for Isaac. "ISAAC, ISAAC HELP!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. But because of the blaring music inside, he didn't hear her.

Looking up, she watched in horror as the dragons razor-sharp teeth came down upon her.

The dragon tore at her flesh, taking mouthfuls at a time before swallowing. Once it had had its fill savoring her flesh; the dragon took her upper half in his mouth, lifted her up, and preceded to swallow her remains whole. After he had done that, he brought his head down and began to lick up the blood to get rid of the evidence.

Once it had finished the dragon turned to leave, but it stepped in a puddle of blood that it missed and slipped. The dragon came crashing down; its head impacting the front of Isaac's truck, denting it.

Groaning from the impact, the dragon slowly got up. Turning around, it went and took care of the spot of blood it missed.

Once finished, the dragon turned around and walked into the night.

But if only the dragon knew that everything it just did, had been caught on Isaac's dashcam.

* * *

**I wanted to get this chapter out, so I rushed the end of the Isaac segment, I'm not going to do that again.**

**I've been working on my writing because I want to write a book. I'm not worried about grammatical errors because I can get someone to fix that for me. The stuff I'm aiming to improve is everything else. So if my writing ever reaches a point where you think it could get published. Or if you just have some tips or pointers. I'd appreciate it if you said something.**


	3. Trouble on the horizon

TROUBLE ON THE HORIZON

* * *

Amber chewed on her pencil as she listened to Mr. Picket, a lanky man with a bowl haircut, lecture them about dead civilizations.

"-Civilizations can come and go; take for instance the Maya. Often called the new world's most advanced pre-Columbian civilization. They built large sprawling stone cities into the jungles of Central America, and southern Mexico. And aside from their hieroglyphics, they were also skilled in mathematics, calender-making, architecture, and astronomy." He said.

"No one knows what brought about the downfall of their civilization, but there are many theories as to what happened. They include drought, disease, warfare-" He droned on.

Bored out of her mind, she began to drum her fingers on the underside of her desk, taking care to avoid the gum.

Turning her head, she observed the other students who were sitting through the same thing as her. Some listened intently; while others- -like herself- -kept zoning out.

looking to the front of the classroom, she trained her eyes on the clock as the little hands jumped to the next number, not much longer now.

"Amber."

Just a few more minutes, then this school day would be over and she could go home. She could go hang out with her friends and have all sorts of fun, she could-

"AMBER GOMEZ!"

She was suddenly brought back to reality when Mr. Picket shouted her name.

She turned her gaze to see that he was staring at her with fire in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Amber, am I boring you?" He asked sternly.

She sat there stunned for a few seconds before finding the right words to reply with. "I'm sorry Mr. Picket." She apologized. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, I just don't see why we need to know about dead civilizations. I don't see what it's going to do for us in the long run."

Letting his facial features soften, he calmed down and addressed her concerns. "Because we can learn from their mistakes." He said softly. " There are many lessons we can learn from our past. Such as seeing how _other _civilizations collapsed; and what we can do to keep ours from suffering the same fate. We could keep _our_ civilization from going the same way as the..." He trailed off, trying to bait his students into filling in the blank.

"The Indus." One student answered.

"The Greenland Vikings." Called out another.

"Uh...Atlantis?" A student in the back said sheepishly, running his hands through his red hair. As he didn't know what to say.

This earned loud groans from the rest of the class, with Amber even calling him an idiot. However, Mr. Picket didn't seem to think so, because he was looking at the boy as if he had just had an epiphany.

"Chris, did you say Atlantis?" Mr. Picket asked the boy.

"Yeah, I know, it was dumb." He replied.

"No, it's not." Picket objected. "It brings up an interesting topic. The legend behind Atlantis is that it was a technologically advanced civilization, capable of amazing feats. Now, it goes that a great disaster struck Atlantis, leveling their cities and destroying their civilization. let's imagine for a second that Atlantis was real, what would it take to destroy them? What would it take to bring down their civilization? He asked the class. "Any ideas?"

"A powerful earthquake could possibly do it." Said a student at the front.

Mr. Picket looked at Amber, his gaze boring its way right through her. "Amber, do you have any ideas?" He asked her.

All eyes in the brightly lit classroom were now focused on her. Their gazes like shards of ice piercing her skin.

Looking at Mr. Picket, Amber replied in a frustrated voice. "Why does it matter, Atlantis wasn't real!" She half shouted, her golden hair falling over her eyes. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" She pleaded., her eyes bearing the look of someone who was hurting.

Before Mr. Picket could respond, the bell rang; signaling the end of the school day.

Grabbing her bag, Amber stood up from her desk and joined the other students to the door. Keeping low and quiet, she tried to blend in with the others so that Mr. Picket would not see her leave. She found herself hiding behind a particularly filthy student who smelled like a combination of hot garbage and dirty socks.

_When was the last time this guy showered? _She asked herself.

Slipping past Picket- - who was in the middle of assigning weekend projects- -Amber walked out the door with the rest of her class.

Stepping out into the hall, she turned right and started down the crowded corridor.

Making her way down the old and weathered hall; the walls dirty, cracked and showing signs of age. She passed by other students who were leaving their classrooms and grabbing their stuff out of their lockers.

Crossing the hall, she walked up to the locker closest to the stairwell.

Entering her combination, she pulled open her locker; its hinges screeching before it slammed up against the wall. Zipping open her bag, she grabbed her textbooks, folders, and other school supplies and began to stuff them into her bag.

She grunted as she struggled to jam the last textbook inside; it's thick hide preventing her from zipping up the bag. Shoving the book as hard as she could, she managed to get it in just enough for the bag to close.

Reaching back in for her coat, she pulled it out and quickly slipped it on.

She closed her locker and jumped back in surprise from the face that had been hiding behind it. Taking a breath to calm herself, she let herself relax.

She turned to face the one that had hidden behind her locker, a scowl plastered on her face. "What's the big idea, Brandon?" She confronted him angrily. "you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Calm down Amber, it was just a joke." The boy- Brandon, said in a casual voice.

She didn't know whether to ignore or smack him. He possessed a laid back attitude and often didn't think of the consequences his actions would lead to.

"What do you want, Brandon?" She asked annoyed.

He leaned up against the wall, earning a small creak from it as it took on his weight. Running a hand through his gel soaked black hair, he proceeded to tell her about something their group was going to check out.

"So, Calvin told us that he was out exploring the woods last weekend when he came across this old run-down building. Just sitting there out in the middle of nowhere. So, we were thinking that the four of us could go and check it out, see it for our selves." He finished.

Amber just stood there, taking in what Brandon had told her. "He found a building?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, a mile out of town. It hasn't seen activity in years."

"And you're just gonna go check it out? Do you even know if it's safe?" She asked skeptically.

"Calvin already checked it out a bit, he said it seems ok. Besides, he said the building doesn't look _that_ old; probably built around a decade or so ago." He told her. "So, are you coming?"

She stood there silently, rubbing her arms as she thought about it. "I... don't think so." She said finally.

A look of disappointment flashed over Brandon's face. "Are you sure? I thought this could be a fun thing we could all do together. are you sure you won't come" He asked? Taking her hands, he looked at her till their eyes met.

She looked into his pleading eyes. It was obvious he wanted to spend time with her, but she just wasn't sure. After a few moments of fighting with herself in her head, she finally relented. "All right." She sighed.

Upon hearing this, Brandon instantly pepped up. "You will, great!" He said, his voice brimming with excitement.

"Uh-hu, yeah great." She said sarcastically trying to shrug off his excitement. "Just tell me where we're going to meet."

"We're meeting up outside the school at dawn. Then we're gonna hop in Calvin's car and drive to the edge of town."

She nodded. "So, what do you think we'll find?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, who knows, maybe we'll find a body!" He said creepily.

"Oh, stop!" She shoved him away.

He looked at her mildly irritated. "Fine, maybe we'll just have to _dispose_ of a body instead?" He joked as he looked at her ominously.

"Ok I am serious, STOP IT!" She said sternly.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." He apologized.

Turning away from Brandon, Amber swung her bag over her back and made her way out of their conversation. "It was nice talking to you Brandon, but I really should be on my way." She said dismissively.

She made her way to leave, but suddenly stopped and found herself staring at something in the distance; surprise plastered on her face.

"Amber are you ok?" Bradon asked concerned. He followed her gaze and his jaw dropped. "Woah!"

There, standing at the end of the hall, was a Cheetah.

"What's one of them doing here?" Amber wondered aloud.

"Oh, I've heard about this!" Brandon said. "Apparently, some guy broke into their world, stole a dangerous device, and got out again. Now they're going all over, telling people to be on the lookout for this man. Saying that he's incredibly dangerous and if anyone sees him, to contact them right away."

Amber watched the cheetah walk down the hall, it strode with confidence and carried an air about it that was strong and tough. Noting it's physical build, and the prominent muscles under its fur-covered body, she deduced it to be able to take down a fully grown man with ease.

It earned all kinds of stairs, with people stopping what they were doing to look at the odd spectacle in front of them. This didn't seem to bother the cheetah, however, as it just kept on walking, unfazed by all the attention.

"It's probably here to inform the principle of what's going on?" Speculated Brandon as the cheetah walked past them, taking only a second to glance at them with its sharp eyes.

Amber and Brandon kept on watching the cheetah for a few more seconds, till finally, it turned a corner and escaped their sight.

"I'm craving Cheetos all of a sudden." Said Brandon.

Amber just ignored him and walked away.

* * *

The midday sun shown brightly overhead as Amber trekked home, her boots leaving deep prints as she trudged through the ankle-deep snow.

Her home was only a brisk ten-minute walk away from the school; which gave her a preferable alternative to riding on a crowded bus. Walking down the barren, unshoveled, sidewalk of one of the neighborhood streets, she neared the local baseball field for which her house sat on the opposite end.

When he was younger, her brother Kyle would often play on these fields, whether it was just him, or he was part of an actual team. In the off-seasons when no one used these fields, she would cut through them, shaving a couple of minutes off her walk. Stepping off the sidewalk, she stepped onto the freshly plowed street and quickly crossed before any cars came. Once safely on the other side and away from the street, she approached the field.

Unlatching the gate, it's old and rusty hinges groaning from the movement, Amber opened it and passed through. Stepping into the field, her boots sinking into the deep snow, she looked out at the empty lot. Where kids used to play ball, kicking up dirt and grass, was now just a vacant field blanketed in white.

Swinging one foot forward, then the other, she plowed her way through the deep snow.

At about halfway through the baseball field, the snow began to get deeper. This made it difficult for her to proceed, she would've turned back, but she had already come too far. With each step, more and more snow seeped into her boots, becoming irritating when it melted. She would've tried to scrape the snow out of her boots, but it would be pointless as it would just happen again.

She tried to ignore it for a while- - but eventually, the wet socks became too annoying.

Bending over, she reached down with her hand and scooped the snow out of her left boot. Turning to her other foot, she proceeded to remove the snow there too.

Standing back to full height, her boots free of snow, she continued forward...Only to roll her ankle on something and face plant into the cold white powder. Causing her entire body to become caked in snow.

As she lied there in the snowbank, she slowly lifted her head- -her face covered in snow.

"Why didn't I go around?" She groaned.

Bringing her hand up, she used her glove to wipe away the snowflakes that clung to her skin.

Rolling over on her back, she sat up and brushed the snow off her shoulders, the flakes creating mini blizzards as they drifted down.

Reaching her hand forward, she inspected the area from which she fell.

Sweeping away the snow, she discovered a baseball that had been left to freeze.

Reaching out for the ball, she grasped it's cowhide exterior and brought it up to eye level to examine it.

It's once pristine white shell was now covered in scuffs and grass stains; the red stitches holding it together having faded into obscurity. The ball was covered in small patches of ice, a sign that it had been here a while.

She wound up her arm to toss it but stopped when she noticed something on the bottom.

Turning the ball over in her grasp, she discovered that something was written on it; most of the words obscured by a patch of ice.

She attempted to remove the ice, but her glove was too large and wouldn't do the job. Undoing the strap, she slipped off her glove and exposed her hand to the cold. She scraped at the obstruction, the cold ice digging into her skin. Using her nails, she was successfully able to chip away enough of the ice to make out what was written.

_To Kyle, love Amber!_

Once she read the inscription she couldn't believe it. This was the ball she got her brother for his eighth birthday- -they had thought it lost.

Her brother loved baseball- - almost as much as he did school- -and would play it all the time.

She remembered the day they lost the ball. Winter was about to begin and Kyle was heading off for college- -he had gotten into NYU- - so he and Amber decided to go out and play a game of ball together before he left. They didn't care that it was freezing out. they cared about spending one more day together before they were hundreds of miles apart.

They spent several hours out in that field playing ball, the sun shining down on them.

They played until dusk hit, at that point, it had gotten so dark that they couldn't see where the ball had landed. So they decided to come back in the early morning to find it before Kyle left. But when they woke up, they were dismayed to find that it had snowed over a foot during the night. Kyle was forced to leave for college without being able to retrieve the ball, and since then it had been missing under piles of snow.

Until now.

Amber chuckled. "I found it Kyle, nearly broke my ankle, but I found it."

Unzipping her bag, she slipped the ball inside and zipped it up again.

"I'll give it back to him when he visits next." She said before continuing home.

* * *

Amber strolled up to her childhood home, a place filled with many memories- - both good and bad.

It was a quaint old house, off down a winding road and hidden by a swath of trees. Its frame was covered in old hickory siding that helped give it its rustic charm. Next to the front door was a small window with a flower box outside it- - the plants now all sad and shriveled up.

There was an old shed to the left of the driveway, its doors have remained closed for years. The only one that opened it had been her father.

Stepping up to the front door, she rapped her knuckles on its hard wooden surface, making the sound reverberate through the house.

After a few seconds, she began to hear someone approach, their footfalls becoming increasingly louder.

Hearing the deadbolt unlock, Amber watched as a Hispanic woman with chocolate brown hair opened the door. Upon seeing Amber standing there, the woman let a smile cross her face, a feeling of warmth and love accompanying it.

Stepping forward, the woman reached her arms behind Amber and pulled her into a warm hug.

As the woman squeezed her, Amber could feel the lady's hot breath on the back of her neck. Feeling uncomfortable from the contact, Amber wormed her way out of the hug, causing a frown to appear on the woman's face.

Adjusting her winter clothes, Amber looked back up to the woman, who now wore an offended expression on her facial features.

Amber opened her mouth. "Hello, Mom."

Ms. Gomez looked at her daughter with a frustrated look on her face. Placing her hands on her hips, she spoke to Amber. "What's so wrong with me hugging you?" She asked rejected.

"Sorry!" Amber shrugged.

Her mother just sighed and stood out of the doorframe. "Come inside please." She beckoned to her daughter.

Complying to her mother's wishes, Amber entered the house with her mom right behind her.

Amber quickly felt the warm air envelop her as she went in, all senses of the cold outside world dissipating as she entered her childhood home.

Amber heard her mother close the door behind her, the sound of the deadbolt locking into place following suite.

"Take off your boots and coat, then come into the kitchen when your ready- - I have stew cooking." Said her mom as she passed Amber and walked down the hall.

Leaning up against the wall she proceeded to take off her boots, it felt good to ditch those wet socks. setting down her last foot, she scrunched her toes through the shaggy carpet, its soft texture feeling good on the soles of her feet.

Slipping off her coat, she hung it on a coat rack next to the door before she followed her mother.

The house they lived in wasn't very big at all, this was evident as she made her way down the short hallway, its cream-colored walls feeling as if they were closing in on her. The house was just big enough for their whole family, with her mom and dad sharing one room, and she and her brother shared the other.

Nearing a doorway on her right- - the doorway that led to the kitchen- - she was about to turn into it when a photo on the hallway wall caught her attention.

There were countless photos on the wall, some with her, some with Kyle. Some of her mom and dad, some with her and her mom, and some with dad and Kyle.

But this particular photo stuck out to her- - because it was the one photo they had of the entire family.

The picture depicted the whole family standing behind a sunset backdrop. They had gone to great lengths to get this ready for that photo, both dad and Kyle got dressed up in nice tuxedos. Amber wore a nice pristine white dress, while her mom wore one with floral patterns.

She missed that moment, a time when their family was still whole- - a time before their father left.

Breaking eye contact with the photo, she left the hall and passed through the doorway into a room that served as both the kitchen and dining room.

She walked in to find her mother slaving over the stove. Smelling the air, her nose was greeted with a delicious aroma originating from the pot filled with boiling and bubbling stew.

"Hi, mom," Amber said getting her mother's attention.

"foods almost ready, why don't you go sit at the table." Her mother replied, indicating to the table at the edge of the kitchen.

Walking to a table that had to be older than her, she pulled out a chair, its legs creating a loud screeching sound as it was dragged out.

Hanging her bag onto the chair, she sat down. She looked on as her mother got two bowls out of the cupboard. Grabbing a large spoon, she dipped it into the pot and began to scoop the hot substance into the bowls.

Amber suddenly began to feel very hungry, as if she hadn't eaten all day.

Sticking a spoon into each bowl, Ambers mom brought the two things of stew over and set them on the table in front of her.

Pulling one of the bowls closer, its ceramic walls hot to the touch. She watched as steam wafted up from the stew.

Taking one of the spoons, she stirred the brown substance around, making carrots, beef, and other vegetables rise to the surface. Scooping up a portion into her spoon, she brought the bite of stew up to her mouth and blew on it, making it a temperature safe to eat.

She stuck the spoon in her mouth, her taste buds erupting with flavor as soon as the stew made contact with her tongue. Amber took another bite of the stew, it's rich broth making her crave more.

Her mom was an excellent cook.

As Amber ate, her mother pulled up a chair and sat across from her. The two sat and ate their stew silently, neither one making any attempt to speak to the other.

In an attempt to break the silence, Ambers mom looked to her and spoke. "So...anything happen at school?" She inquired.

"Mmm...not really," Amber replied. About to take another bite of stew, she suddenly recalled what she saw when she was leaving school."Wait, no something _did_ happen!" She said correcting herself. "There was a Cheetah at school!"

"A Cheetah?" Her mother's eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah, a friend of mine told me that some dangerous man stole something from the dragons, and now their searching for him."

"Wait! So a dangerous man is running around here somewhere in Angle Springs?" Her mom asked alarmed.

"Yeah, sounds like it." Affirmed her daughter. "But I doubt we have to worry about it, I'm sure the dragons have it under control." Amber declared calmly, not even bothering to look up from her stew.

But her mother, however, did not possess the level of calmness that Amber did. Instead, she was visibly distraught at this new revelation, the notion that a wanted man was roaming free in their own backyard terrified her beyond words. "Maybe you should stay at home for a few days? Give them time to catch this guy." Her mother suggested, obviously worried for her daughter.

Amber shook her head. "Mom, I don't think its a problem, as I said I'm sure the dragons have full control of what's happening." She said looking up at her mom, their brown eyes making contact with each other.

"Are you sure?"

"Look, mom, this town is not incredibly small, the chances of me running into this man are slim." She said soothingly, trying to calm her mother. "Besides, I'm not going to be going anywhere by my self; there's no chance of this guy catching me alone."

"But what if, if." Her mother struggled to finds words to reply with. *_sigh_* "Do you promise that you'll be careful? Do you promise?" She asked finally.

"I promise." She told her mom.

_Besides, this man could be anywhere._ Amber mused to herself. _What are the odds I'd run into him__?_

* * *

Anthony trudged through the deep snow. The cold winter air biting at his exposed skin, and burning his lungs and throat.

He stumbled his way through the pitch-black forest, struggling to see even a few feet in front of him. Every step he took only helped to aggravate all his wounds, causing them to flare up like fire, sending him into unbearable pain.

He looked down at the device he clutched firmly to his chest with his remaining hand, ready to defend it like it was his own baby. This old and rusted device was the key to everything, he couldn't let the dragons get their grubby claws back on it, for if they did - - it would be the end.

Stumbling through the dark, he was near ready to lose all hope of finding shelter, until the silhouette of a structure came into view. Anthony found himself afraid to blink, fearing that it was a trick of the eyes, and if he looked away- - it would be gone.

Limping a few feet forward- - the nerves in his legs crying out every time- - he closed the distance between him and the structure. As he got closer, the building came into focus. It was an old, small complex building, with broken out glass windows, aging foundations, bent fences, and stairs, and was overgrown with nature.

"It's still here," Anthony said relived.

Stepping forward- - the snow crunching under his feet- - he headed for the safety of the old building.

* * *

**Heres the next chapter, it was originally going to be longer, but I decided to do the rest as a separate chapter.**

**My goal is to upload at _least_ one chapter a month, but I' mm aiming to hopefully put out more than that.**


	4. Interception

**Hello readers, from this point forward I've decided to challenge myself. In every chapter, I will include a reference to a different movie, tv-show, game, or book. And I' mm challenging you to find them, the first person to find a reference and tell me about it and what it is from will get a shout out in the following chapter.**

* * *

INTERCEPTION

* * *

The world was dark, a veil of endless black covering everything in sight. The only lights found in this world were those cast off by towns and cities; their glows acting as a beacon in the darkness. But for all their might, they were not bright enough to pierce the shadows that hung over our world.

However, a reprive was in sight. Across the land and over the horizon, the sun's first rays of dawn cast themselves unto the earth. The dark receded as the golden rays of the sun transformed the sky- - giving it resplendent hues of purple and orange.

In the state of New York, there sat a small valley still shrouded in darkness. In the middle of it, rested a town known as Angle Springs, the streets and stores mostly bare of activity as everyone and everything still slept.

The sun crested over the nearby mountain, its rays illuminating the valley. Rousing all within from their slumber.

Over in the western edge of town resided the Angle Springs high school.

Amber crossed onto the school grounds; it's normally occupied space was now bare, save for a few birds filtering in the trees above. She used her eyes to scour the nearby area. across the way from her, she could see the front of the school, the light from the rising sun reflecting off its windows and glass doors. Off to the side, she could see part of the fields where various sporting events were held in the summer. In the front of the schoolyard stood a flagpole; the American flag fixated to the top- - a light breeze making it fly proudly in the air.

Amber walked forward, making her way across the parking lot. The snow here was all oily and dirty, an effect from all the cars and buses constantly driving to and from the school.

Approaching the curb, she stepped up onto the sidewalk. She walked down the concrete path, her reflection shown in the windows as she crossed the front of the school. Reaching the end of the building, she turned a corner and the side lot came into view.

Parked at the end, right next to a large snowdrift was an old red jeep. The paint on its exterior was faded from exposure to the sun. And its body was covered in several scuffs and rust marks.

Closing the distance between her and the jeep, she began to make out the forms of three people waiting there for her. The first one was Brandon, He was easy to spot due to his slick black hair and white snow clothes. The next was Calvin wearing his fur parka. Amber always thought he looked like an Eskimo when he wore it, despite him saying that Eskimo's clothing had a lot more to it than just a fur parka. He also had the distinction of being the only one in their group to sport a beard and mustache.

The last of the three was Jemma, who sat in the jeeps passenger seat. She was dressed in black clothing, lipstick, and eyeliner, a brooding air wafting off of her- - she had been going through a bit of a goth phase recently.

Brandon waved Amber down, his face bearing a big old grin. "You said that you'd come, but I wasn't sure that you actually would." He told her.

"Yeah, well I debated it, and I decided that this was better than sitting inside watching TV all day." She said in reply.

"Hey, can we go now?" Calvin piped up, his voice laced with impatience. "We've been waiting out here in the cold for over ten minutes for you, so can we please get in the car where it's warm?" He asked with his arms folded, trying to retain heat.

Sharing a quick glance, Amber and Brandon walked around to the side doors and slipped inside the jeep.

Amber sat down in the seat behind Jemma, The old leather seats in the car were cracked and peeling, there stitching coming apart at the seams. They were in such bad shape that Calvin had ordered new seats to replace them, where he got the money she had no idea.

Amber heard a loud slam to her left and turned her head to see Brandon adjusting himself into his seat. He reached back and grabbed hold of the seat belt, pulling it forward and locking it in the buckle.

Amber did the same.

Upfront, Calvin put the key into the ignition and the engine roared to life, albeit shakily. Putting the car in reverse, Calvin backed out of the parking spot and got onto the main road.

Amber stared out the window as the world rushed past them in a white blur.

"So Calvin." She heard Jemma start. "Just how exactly did you come across this mysterious building?"

Calvin kept his eyes on the road, his attention focused largely on keeping the car from crashing into any nearby objects. "Well, you guys know how I've been getting into exploration recently right?" He asked rhetorically, his gaze fixated on the road. "So I've been going out whenever I have free time to check out the nearby forests; you know, see the flora and fauna up close in a world untouched by man."

"But this last time, however, didn't go like I'd thought," Calvin told them. "When I went out this time, instead of animals, I found an old building left to rot. When I told Brandon about it, he suggested that we all come to check it out together- - thought it'd be a good activity before our graduation."

"Which is ironic, considering Brandon's odds of graduating aren't that good." Commented Jemma, taking a shot at Brandon.

"Hey! I'm gonna graduate!" Brandon whined.

* * *

The rest of the drive went on uneventfully, with the four of them sitting quilty. They drove through to the other side of Angle Springs. Coming to a stop at the woods on the east side of town.

They all stepped out of the car, the doors slamming shut behind them.

Amber gazed up at the massive trees that loomed over her. Their large frames casting shadows that acted as if they were reaching out for her.

Calvin led the way as the group of four made their way into the trees. Leaving the town behind, they entered a leafy world covered in snow. The sunlight filtered through the branches as they walked, illuminating the dark forest floor.

.

They walked for what felt like hours, the sun steadily climbing the sky as they trekked ever deeper into the woods. With still no building in sight, Amber began to get frustrated. Her leg muscles burned, crying for a rest. Picking up her pace, she caught up with Calvin.

"Calvin!" She harped. "We have been walking out here for ages; where is this building you said was..." Before she could finish, her breath caught in her throat as they cleared a large boulder blocking the path.

Amber stared at the sight in front of her. Within a large clearing rested an old rundown building, just like Calvin had said. The structure had fallen into disrepair, it was overgrown with plant life, the doors and windows were busted open, and rusting cars were scattered around the premises.

Brandon stepped forward, a look of awe on his face. "Wow! look at this place!" He said enthusiastically. Suddenly he rushed forward, catching the rest of the group off guard.

Amber and the rest followed after him, coming to a halt right outside the main doors. Brandon standing just beyond its threshold. Amber tentatively swung her foot through the entryway, glass crackling under her boot.

"I wonder what this place was?" She heard Brandon say as she joined up with him in the hallway.

"Who knows?" She wondered aloud as she inspected a sign affixed to the wall, it's writing unreadable.

Amber heard the crackling of glass and turned her head to see Calvin and Jemma enter the building's dark interior. "So, what do you guys think?" Calvin asked once he was inside.

"I think it's incredible!" Brandon, who was now even further down the hall, replied excitedly.

It's interesting, I guess." Amber said plainly.

.

The four of them passed deeper into the building's dark and dreary hallways. There was something about this place that felt off to Amber, but she couldn't figure out what. Gazing around at the halls, she could tell that something bad happened here, but what? What dark secrets did this building hold?

As she walked through those corridors of darkness, something glinted in the corner of her eye. Stopping in her tracks, she turned her head in the direction of what she saw. Down another hall, a beam of light shown through a dirty window onto a hunk of metal lying on the ground. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she slowly approached the object.

Laying in a pile of rubble rested an old metal sign, its bent and rugged surface collecting dust. She bent down to inspect it. Taking care not to slice her hands open on the sharp metal, she delicately grasped the edges. She held the sign up to the light and blew, sending up a cloud of dust that billowed up in her face.

After going through a coughing fit, she blinked her eyes clear of the dust and examined the sign. parts of its surface were old and worn away, and while some of the letterings were faded, there was one word that could be read plain as day.

displayed in red, bold writing, was the word,_ INFISCAPE_.

_Infiscape? _Amber wondered. _This is their place? _She looked up at the decaying walls and floors, their surfaces covered in some dark, crusty substance. Upon further inspection, a grim feeling took her over.

It was blood. The walls and floors were covered in old, dried up blood. The sheet of metal fell from her hold, creating a ghostly echo throughout the halls as it hit the floor.

"What the hell happened here?" She said with bated breath.

"Guys! You need to see..." She started while pulling a one-eighty to face her friends- -but quickly found that she was now alone.

She had been left behind.

"Some friends you are." She huffed.

.

Amber aimlessly wandered the shadowy halls of the abandoned structure searching for her friends. She found herself constantly checking over her shoulders; fearing that someone- - or something- - might attack her. As she walked down those foreboding halls, she started to hear strange, moaning like sounds. She told herself that it was just a trick of the mind, or it was the wind- -but she didn't believe that.

Eventually, the sound started to get louder, and her nerves racked themselves even harder. As she walked the moaning got louder and louder. Soon she was able to discern just where the sound was coming from. Up ahead of her was a door labeled _control room- -_ the eerie moaning emanating from its dark interior.

Her mind was screaming at her to run away, to go anywhere else other than here. But she stayed rooted to the spot, her eyes glued to the door.

What if it was one of her friends? She thought. What if one of them had gotten separated from the group just like her- - and were now injured?

She slowly stepped forward and passed through the doorway. Walking silently, she found her self in a room filled with control terminals overlooking a large area with a glass ceiling. She peered out through the dirty glass windows and saw the room beyond was filled with several massive generators- - all linked to one equally massive metal ring.

She was reminded as to her reason for being here when she heard soft moans. She scanned the darkroom, searching for the source of the noise. As she panned her eyes around the place, her gaze fell on a bundle of cloth that lay in the corner.

It was hard to see in this low light environment, so she couldn't tell if it was worth checking out- - then it moved.

The figure within the cloth rose, its body covered in wounds. Turning on its haunches, it turned to face Amber- - the eyes of a raggedy man staring at her.

Amber couldn't help but scream.

Off the distance, she could now hear the alarmed voices of her friends crying out for her.

Amber watched as the man shakily got to his feet, her heart pounding in her chest as he inched his way toward her. But before he could get far, he collapsed to the ground, his body landing with a thud.

She turned on her heels to flee but stopped in her tracks when the man uttered a single word.

"Help!" amber looked to the man with caution, what if this was just a trick? What if he was just trying to get her to let her guard down, and then when she wasn't looking- - BAM!

"Help!" The man squeaked out again, followed by. "We can't let them win!" The man grabbed a bundle of cloth and began to unroll it, within she saw a glint of metal.

_GUN!_ Amber panicked, preparing to jump out the door. But as the man unrolled the cloth more, she saw it was anything but. As the man uncovered the object, she saw it was an old metal cylinder covered in rust, a black line running down its middle.

_Is this the man the dragons are looking for? _She thought as soon as she saw the device.

The man rolled the device across the floor to Amber, the object colliding with her foot. Crouching down, Amber took hold of the cylinder it was a foot in length, and its diameter was only a few inches wide. It had a surprising amount of heft to it despite its size.

Do _not _trust the dragons!" The man said suddenly. Amber looked back at him, pure fear visible in his eyes. "They are not what they say they are, do not believe their lies!

He gestured to the object Amber held. "The dragons will do _anything_ to get that device back; you must not let them have it!"

"What is it?" Amber asked.

"Its the key to everything!" The man said through short breaths. "Our history is not what we think it is; Within that device is the truth about our civilization. That device, and what it holds inside, is humanity's only hope. Use it, find the arsenal of the FATED! The past _cannot_ be allowed to repeat itself!"

"AMBER, WHERE ARE YOU!" She heard Calvin yell.

"In here!" She called out to them. She soon heard the footfalls as her friends grew closer to her location.

"I-listen to me, in order to...power the device, you need to-" Whatever the man was about to say was cut off as he entered a coughing fit. He started wheezing hard, trying to regain his breath. "You need to-to-" He tried to say, but couldn't get it out. He grasped his throat as he struggled to breathe.

The man was in a bad condition and despite his best efforts to fight it off- -he lost in the end. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body went limp as he passed out- -his body lying motionless on the floor.

Amber just stared at the man's body in shock, did that really just happen?

The sound of people approaching caught her attention, she turned her head to see her friends all clambering their way through the door. As they made their way into the room, Amber quickly hid the device from their view.

"Amber what-OH MY GOD!" Brandon started but quickly lost himself when he saw the body of the man lying there. The three of them all stared in shock at the man, the bewilderment on their faces evident.

Amber looked at her friends, then to the man, then finally- -to the device by her side.

* * *

Amber sat in the passenger seat of Calvin's car. As she sat, she watched a group of paramedics carry the man away on a stretcher to the ambulance. She looked underneath her seat at the device the man had given her. She hadn't told anyone about the device, after the man passed out, she slipped the device into her coat when they weren't looking.

Since they had gotten back from the building, the four of them had been bombarded with questions. She watched as Brandon spoke with a dragon- - a seawing to be precise- - about what happened in the building. The seawing seemed to ask Brandon a question, about what she didn't know- - but then Brandon pointed in her direction.

The seawing thanked Brandon and then started to make its way to Amber. As the dragon got closer, Amber realized that it wasn't just any dragon- -it was one of the famous ones that had been on the news.

Tsunami the seawing, Amber recalled. She watched as the blue dragon neared the car, her scales glinting in the light.

Stepping up to the vehicle, Tsunami lightly tapped on the glass window- -prompting Amber to open the door.

"Yes?" She asked with a slight twinge of nervousness in her voice.

"I'm being told that you were the one that made contact with MR. Richardson, is this true?" She spoke in a smooth voice, like butter.

"Yeah, it is," Amber confirmed.

"Tell me." Tsunami said. "When you met him, did he have _a...device,_ with him." She asked in an almost probing manner. "Did he give it to you, or did he _mention _a device maybe?"

She was nearly going to reply by saying yes and showing her the device- -but then she remembered what the man told her.

_Do NOT trust the dragons! __They are not what they say they are, do not believe their lies!_

_They will do ANYTHING to get that device back; you must not let them have it!_

_Its the key to everything! Find the arsenal of the FATED! __The past CANNOT be allowed to repeat itself! _

Amber ruminated on what he said, before making a decision.

"No!" She said finally, doing her best to not let on that she was lying.

"Oh! Well, that's too bad, that device is _important _to us." The sea dragon said. "Well, thank you for your time!" She said before turning to leave.

Amber watched the dragon stroll away, a single question nagging at her brain the whole time.

Did Tsunami believe her?

* * *

Later, Calvin dropped Amber off at her house, and once inside- -she bolted to her room.

Slamming the door shut and locking it behind her, Amber unzipped her coat. Pulling out the device, she set it on the nightstand and focused the lamp on it. She sat down on her bed, the matters sinking under her weight.

Amber scrutinized the illuminated device. "All right MR. Richardson, tell me- -why did I lie for you?"

* * *

**I recently updated the prologue, I didn't do much, I just replaced some old words with a few new ones. But I think just enough to tease the dragon's motives.**

**There was a guest who commented on my last chapter, but because I couldn't PM them I'm doing it here. __**

**_Guest L, the dragons_ are_ the bad guys. And the cheetahs are the only other creatures I'm adding_, I'm not destroying the plot! Now as far as the cheetahs, I don't want to go into spoilers, but I will say this. There is more to their inclusion than meets the eye.**


	5. Vacation gone wrong

**The references in this chapter are fairly easy to spot, the only way you'd miss them is if you never viewed the source material, I wound up doing two in this chapter, I added one reference, and then I added another because the context was too perfect to not add it.  
**

**The first person to comment on a reference and what it's from will get a shout out in the proceeding chapter.**

**I have a quick question. Is it required that I put down a disclaimer? Are there people out there that might think I own the properties if I don't put a disclaimer down. And if I am required to do it, do I need to place one every chapter, or just every once in a while? I don't know.**

* * *

VACATION GONE WRONG

* * *

The brakes on the bus screeched as it came to a halt. The doors hissed as they swung open, scores of people filing out.

A young woman stepped off the bus, her blonde hair blowing in the soft breeze. She inhaled deeply, the crisp afternoon air filling her lungs. she grabbed her luggage and joined the crowd as they departed the station.

She passed through a set of glass doors, the sight beyond filling her eyes with joy. In front of her sat the small town of Angle Springs, its streets and stores teeming with life. "You're not in Syndey anymore Amy." She said in an Australian accent.

Walking up to the curb, Amy reached her arm out and waved down a cab. Its glossy yellow paint job sparkled in the sun.

Putting her bag in the trunk, she opened the cab's side door and got in.

"Ya all set up?" The driver asked, adjusting his mirror to look at her.

"Yep," Amy replied tightening her belt.

"So where to?"

"The halo ring motel." She met his blue eyes through the mirror.

The driver turned the key in the ignition, causing the cab to roar to life. Pulling away from the curb, he got on the main road and merged with the traffic.

Amy stared out the window at the world passing by, amazed at what she was seeing. People and dragons walked through the streets mingling with one another. In one instance, she saw an older couple talking with a dragon. The couple had greying hair and their skin was showing signs of age; they also wore big burly overcoats that looked like they had skinned a mammoth.

The dragon's royal blue scales gleamed beautifully in the light. Her snout bore a soft smile as she spoke to the couple; about what Amy had bo clue.

"This is amazing; I can't believe I'm here!" She blurted gleefully.

The driver raised his eyebrows. "Ahh, so your another one of those fangirls, are ya." He noted.

"I guess you could say that." Amy let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips. "They're within my top one hundred favorite franchises; Spyro is placed at twenty-five, and wings of fire are at thirty-one."

The driver whistled. "Wow, that's- that's a lot of favorite franchises."

"well I like a lot of stuff, so naturally I have a bunch of favorites." She said.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, whats at number one?" The driver asked out of curiosity.

Amy smiled. "Number one has been, and always will be, Star Wars."

The driver smiled right back. "You made a good choice for number one." He said grinning.

Amy looked back to the window. outside she saw a sprawling park where people and dragons walked under a canopy of trees; their branches blanketed in snow.

_That'd be a nice place to check out later._ thought Amy. _I wonder what else there is to see?_ She turned her attention to the driver. "Excuse me, do you know of any tourist attractions or good restaurants in the area?" She inquired.

Amy could see the driver furrow his brows through the mirror as he thought about her question. "Well, let's see." He began. "There's the main street, which is where the town first started, back in eighteen-eighty-seven. there's the museum about the town's history. I think there's a waterfall near here?" He said uncertainly.

"What about restaurants?"

"I know of a few." He said. "There's the grub and go; it's this little western-themed joint on the edge of town. There's a pizzeria on fifth that makes a mean deep dish, and-"

He suddenly cut off. "Ohh, you know where you need to go; This little donut shop on terry street!" He said, his eyes lighting up. "They make any kind of donut you can imagine! They make cookie dough, and cotton candy donuts. Donuts with gummies on top, donuts with _candy_ on top. They make giant donuts and miniature donuts.

"But best of all. Ice cream. Filled. Donuts!" He finished lustfully.

"That...sounds like heaven," Amy said slowly.

The driver grinned. "Would you believe me if I told you that's what the place is called?"

"I am _so_ going there," Amy said bluntly.

"So." Amy began. "What's it like living in this town...since the dragons showed up I mean?" She asked curiously.

The man gave a short huff. "I don't know, I haven't really thought about it much. My life really hasn't been affected by this whole thing that much. I was never really a fan of Spyro or Wings of fire; I hadn't even heard of the latter till all this went down. Thus I haven't been fawning over them like some people are.

The driver pondered. "I'd say the only difference for _me_ is that I get a lot more business than I used to."

"I can imagine that," Amy agreed with his statement. "Business must be booming for you."

"It is." He confirmed."I used to mainly give rides to residents, but then this whole dragon thing happened. Now tourists flock to this place like birds, lots of them requiring transport."

"Well I'm glad it did, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to have this talk with you!" Amy said kindly.

The driver blushed slightly at her words."It's really nice to hear you say that." His happy demeanor fell a bit. "I just wish _all_ my passengers were as nice as you."

"What do you mean?" Amy scrunched her brows.

"I mean, while some passengers are nice enough; others can't help but spout rude comments. Like the other day, for instance, a man I'd say was in his late twenties, decided to comment on my bald head." He said in annoyance.

"Well, _I _think your head is fine just the way it is." She said sympathetically.

The man smiled. "Why thank you."

.

A short time later, the yellow cab came to a halt outside the motel. Amy grabbed her luggage out of the trunk than went to the driver's open window.

"Thanks for the ride, Phil," Amy said as she handed him some cash.

Phil gave her a warm smile. "You are more than welcome Amy." Taking the money, he gave her one last glance before pulling away and getting on the street.

Amy was left alone in the parking lot, the cold wind battering her yellow coat.

She turned away from where she was standing and set her eyes on the halo ring motel. And suffice it to say, she was...underwhelmed. In the photos, it depicted a motel with a coat of pristine white paint and golden halos on its walls, a place that was kept clean and in good shape.

The real thing was the exact opposite.

The building was rundown. Its paint was peeling, and the golden halos had since fallen off, leaving only an outline of where they used to be. Several light bulbs around the premises had burned out. Across from her was a big neon sign, its lights flickering close to death.

_just because it's old doesn't mean its a_ dump;_ Maybe it's nicer on the inside?_ Amy thought optimistically.

She approached the establishment's front door. The glass panes on either side of it were covered in grime, to the point that you could not see through them.

Hanging on the front door was a sign, its surface had been all but destroyed from the sun and the elements. Despite this, Amy was _just_ able to make out what was on it.

**WELCOME TO THE HALO RING MOTEL  
PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY**

It read in gold faded lettering

Ignoring the sign, Amy grasped the doorknob and turned it. The door swung open; a bell above the door frame ringing off as it did so.

Amy stepped into a small cubicle like room. It was largely bare, save for a bench and a shelf holding pamphlets. The only working lightbulb was situated in the back corner, casting a dim glow on the room.

Amy sniffed the air and her face scrunched up in response; a foul odor permeated the air, it smelled as if something had died within these walls.

_UGGH! Wheres that smell coming_ _from?_ Amy thought, disgust evident on her face.

Looking ahead, she quickly found her answer.

Behind an ajar glass window sat an overweight man, he wore a tattered white tank top covered in grease and other food stains. It looked- and smelled- like he hadn't showered in _quite_ some time. He was sitting back in a reclining chair, scarfing down a hoagie and chips.

Leaving her luggage by the door, Amy reluctantly approached the man. He had his eyes glued on a portable tv he had in the corner, not even bothering to address Amy.

"Excuse me." Amy piped up to get his attention. However, the man still didn't notice her, instead, he stuffed several Doritos into his mouth.

"Excuse me!" She went again, louder than before. This time the man took notice. Sucking the cheese powder off his fingers he turned to face Amy.

"Yes?" He asked in an emotionless voice.

"Um, I have a reservation under Amy Smith." She told the man while trying to not pass out from the smell.

Turning to the computer, he checked the system for a reservation under that name. After finding what he was looking for, he opened up a drawer and began to rummage around for something. Pulling out a keycard, he slipped it into a small folder. Sliding the window open further the man handed it to Amy. " Heres your key, you're in room seventeen."

Taking the card, Amy thanked the man as he went back to stuffing his face.

Before she left, Amy walked over to the shelf and plucked a couple of random pamphlets off of it and stuffed them in her coat. Having done that, she grabbed her luggage and exited the room.

Amy took a deep breath as she let the fresh air engulf her, she was glad to be out of that room. But for how bad it was, it _paled _in comparison to her uncle Kenny's outhouse.

What was he eating?

With her suitcase in tow, Amy navigated the series of doors looking for her room.

-5, 6, 7, 8- She counted the numbers as she passed them; their rising digits a confirmation she was going the right way.

-14, 15, 16- Ahh, there it was, room seventeen.

She pulled the keycard out of its folder and swiped it on the door. She heard a _click_ and the little red light on the locking mechanism turned green.

The door slid open smoothly, revealing a small room with a bed and other amenities. Amy stepped into the room, its beige carpet creaking under her weight. The door closed shut behind her, making another _click_ as it latched into place.

Amy scrutinized her temporary living space. Everything in it was old, and probably _not_ the greatest quality, it looked like the room was straight out of the eighties or nineties. While it wasn't five-star resort material, she had certainly seen worse.

The room had a slight musty smell to it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the office.

Letting her suitcase rest against the bedpost, Amy sat down on the mattress, its old springs groaning. She bounced up and down a couple of times on the bed, testing it before deciding that it seemed ok. There was an indiscernible stain on one of the pillows, unwilling to rest her head on it she threw it off to the side.

Getting up, she unzipped her coat and slid it off her body and laid it to rest on a chair in the corner.

She walked over to the window and pulled open its curtains. The sun's rays filtered into the small room, giving it a warm glow. Resting her hands on the window sill, she gazed out at the town, a smile stretching its way across her face.

This was going to be the experience of a lifetime.

* * *

Pryce sat in his motel room playing Minecraft on his switch.

Fully clad in iron gear, he had ventured down into a deep cavern to search for diamond deposits and other resources. To stave off the darkness, he placed torches every few blocks, their burning flames illuminating the rock walls around him.

Putting down a torch, his face lit up as he stumbled upon a vein of iron. Pulling out his pic, he started to hack at the iron ore. Most pieces he mined flew straight into his inventory; any that didn't would just pool up on the ground waiting for him to collect them.

Collecting the rest of the iron, he quickly checked his inventory to see how much he got.

Nine. He got nine pieces of iron.

Putting away his pickaxe, he got ready to delve deeper into the cave...

...Until he got nailed in the head with an arrow.

Whirling around, he frantically searched the area for any sign of the assailant. From out of the darkness, a skeleton reared its bony head.

Raising its bow, the skeleton fired another arrow, which Pryce quickly blocked with his sword. It prepared to fire at him again, but Pryce sidestepped the arrow and advanced on the mob. He looked ahead at the skeleton's cold dead eyes as it prepared to fire a fourth projectile.

But before it could he was upon it, slashing at it with his iron blade. Every hit he landed on the skeleton resulted in the sound of rattling bones as its health depleted. After one final hit, the skeleton fell, turning into a puff of smoke and leaving only a pile of bones and XP orbs in its place.

Pryce approached the mob drops, upon contact the bones flew into his inventory and his XP levels rose.

After eating a piece of beef to increase his hearts, he pulled out his torches and prepared to travel deeper into the cave's dark depths...

...Then his phone rang.

Taking a deep sigh, he quickly turned the game off before fishing his phone out of his pocket.

He gripped his phone in his hand, its custom made Legend of Zelda case making it smooth to the touch.

Checking the number, he swiped right and put the phone to his ear.

"Hi, Kent."

_hey, Pryce_, His cousin's concerned voice sounded over the phone. _I just wanted to check up on you, make sure you were all right. You were acting kinda odd the other day._

He was referring to their talk back at Infiscape when he acted as a distraction for Jace. He made some comments that were 'out of place'. But he was pretty sure that his cousin meant his relaying of Jaces words.

"No, I'm fine," Pryce said. "I had heard some rumors floating around, and I was wondering if you had noticed something." He stretched the truth, not knowing if he should discuss where he really heard it.

"Are you _sure_, you haven't heard anything?" Pryce tentatively asked.

For a few seconds, all that came through the phone was silence, to which Pryce found to be deafening. He waited anxiously for his cousin to reply, for the silence to cease.

_No_. Came his cousin's sharp reply. _I haven't seen anything _strange_ or_ weird.

Pryce sighed, but he couldn't discern if it was from relief or anxiousness. "All right."

_*All_ _right_,_ I'll get to it sir*_ Kent said to someone off the phone. _I have to go, Pryce, _He addressed his cousin once more_ Some work stuff came up and it needs to be taken care of._

"Ok, bye cuz."

_Bye Pryce_.

After their goodbyes, Pryce hung up his phone and stashed it away in his pocket.

Standing up, Pryce went over to the sink and turned on the water to its coldest. Sticking his hands into the ice-cold liquid, he splashed the water all over his face trying to calm down.

Why was he feeling like this? It was everything that Jace guy told him about the disappearances lately. At first, he didn't think much of it; but slowly, the idea that the dragons could be part of some kind of conspiracy wormed its way into his brain.

And the idea... it scared him.

He didn't want to believe that they could do such a thing; that the characters from one of his favorite franchises could be part of a dark conspiracy. He tried to tell himself that the notion was crazy, that Jace had no idea what he was talking about.

"There's nothing wrong with the dragons...right?" He tried to tell himself, but doubt found a way into his voice.

"Maybe I should go for a walk?" He thought out loud. "get some fresh air and clear my head."

Grabbing his shoes from the base of the bed, he slipped them on. After making sure the laces were tightly fastened, he proceeded to put on his coat.

Approaching the door, he pulled it open to be greeted with a blast of cold winter air. As he stepped through, he heard the sound of a door closing to his left.

_Room seventeen, they went in _just_ as I left. _Pryce realized.

Pryce had been staying at the halo ring motel, every other place in town had been booked and it was all that had been available for him.

Leaving the motel grounds, he stepped out onto the sidewalk.

He placed one foot after the other, every step taking him further and further away from the motel. He angeled his head downwards, his gaze casting itself onto the old and cracked concrete path. His eyes became transfixed on the tiny sparkly bits in the sidewalk, their oddly tantalizing appearance helping him forget the whole conspiracy thing.

He absentmindedly tuned out the world around him, all the busy traffic and the commotion of everyday life fading into the background.

Pryce kicked a pebble lying on the sidewalk, sending it flying over the curb and making a small _ding_ as it landed perfectly on the metal bar of a drainage ditch.

_This is nice!_ He thought.

Coming up on a crosswalk, he waited till it was clear than he made his way to the other side. On this side of the street, there was more activity, whereas on the other side it was just him.

Joining up with the sea of people, he moved with them in unison, his movements lost among theirs.

Walking with all these other people was a tight squeeze. They were so packed together, that at times he had trouble differentiating one of his limbs from that of someone else's. There was one instance where he tried to move his arm but quickly realized that it belonged to someone else.

Pryce walked down this path for a while, looking back he could no longer see the motel, so he wagered that he had some great distance from it.

As he made his way through town, a pleasant aroma danced its way across his nose, inciting a growl from his stomach. Following the smell, he broke off from the crowd and stepped into a small dirt lot nestled up between two buildings.

In the back of the lot rested an old food truck that looked as if it hadn't moved in years. It had a chrome paint job with tendrils of flames streaking across the truck. Inside, he could see a few people slaving over the stove, the heat from within visible in the cold.

Off to the side of the truck resided clusters of tables and chairs where people and dragons sat eating.

There was a neat little line leading up to the truck comprised of a few people and a dragon.

Pryce's stomach growled again from the delightful aromas wafting over from the truck; it was practically saying,_ feed me, feed me!_

"Yeah, I could use a bite to eat." Pryce decided. Walking up to the line, he stepped into place behind the dragon, its yellow tail gently swaying back and forth as it waited for its turn.

One by one, the people in line ordered and received their food, taking it on the go or over to a series of tables to the trucks right. Pretty soon it was the dragons turn to order, stepping up to the window it began to speak in a male voice.

As the dragon ordered, Pryce found himself staring at its scaly hide, his anxiety returning.

_Most of the disappearances started about three months ago, right when the dragons first showed up. _Jace's words replayed themselves in his head over and over, stressing him out.

_NO, NO! _Pryce screamed internally, his heart beating hard in his chest. _The dragons can't, be part of some dark conspiracy, they CAN'T! _

He was so consumed in his internal screaming that he failed to notice that it was now his turn to order. Realizing that he was holding up the line, he shoved those stressful thoughts down and stepped up to the window.

"What're you gonna have, son?" The man asked, his bushy mustache moving with his lips.

Pryce glanced at the menu, a plain blackboard with different types of food listed in white chalk. Taking a minute to look over the items, he weighed over his options before making a choice. "Uh...I think I'll have the cheeseburger and fries." He decided.

"Anything to drink?"

"I'll have a Coke," Pryce said.

The man nodded his head. "All right, wait just a second." Taking a note pad, he wrote down everything Pryce ordered and added it up. He barked out orders to the people manning the grills before turning back to face Pryce. "That'll be twelve fifty." He stated.

reaching into his back pocket, Pryce fished out his old leather wallet, its surface frayed and tattered. He pulled out a few crisp American dollars, one ten, and three ones. Pryce silently handed the man the green pieces of paper; who then, in turn, handed him back fifty cents in change.

"your food will be ready shortly." The man told him.

Pryce nodded and stepped off to the side to wait.

As he waited, he found himself staring out at the busy road, all the cars moving up and down the street like clockwork, their metallic frames shining in the light. He watched all the people walking through the town, their coats fastened, and their arms weighed down with shopping bags. And the dragons...

...The dragons. Every time he saw one of them, his thoughts wandered back to that conspiracy stuff. Before that day at Infiscap, whenever he saw a dragon, he would become excited at the idea of meeting one, to be able to talk with a living, breathing dragon. But whenever he saw one_ now _all he could think about was what Jace told him, that he thought the dragons were involved with something bad.

Pryce shook his head. _I don't believe the dragons up to anything. I DON'T! _He thought firmly. But then a look of uncertainty crossed his face._ But than...whats happening to all those people?_

He was quickly pulled from his introspective thoughts when the man from the truck called to him. Turning to face the man, he saw he was holding a basket in his hand, a piece of paper separating the food from the plastic.

"Here ya go, pal." He said as he handed him the food and a can of Coke. Pryce graciously accepted the food, flashing the man a smile before heading to sit down.

Approaching an unoccupied table, Pryce sat down to eat. Pulling the bun off his burger, he grabbed a ketchup bottle that was sitting on the table and squirted it all over the burger. He then proceeded to squirt more ketchup into the basket to dip his fries in.

Putting the bun back on, he picked up the burger and took a bite. His taste buds erupted with flavor as the juicy burger made contact with his tongue. He set the burger down and reached for the bottle of Coke, its metal surface cold to the touch. He pulled the tab back, earning a hiss of carbonation upon doing so. He brought the can up to his lips and let the dark liquid pour into his mouth, giving his throat a slight burn as he swallowed.

As he sat there eating, he slowly became aware of a presence on the opposite side of the table. He looked up from his food to find that the yellow dragon from earlier had come over to where he was sitting.

Pryce warily eyed the dragon as he stood across from him, just watching. The dragon opened his maw, causing Pryce to visibly tense as it did so.

"Is it all right if I join you?" The dragon asked, making him relax a bit.

"Y-yeah", Pryce replied apprehensively.

The dragon smiled a little before, reaching around to his back, he chomped his teeth down on a basket of food he had placed there. Setting the basket on the table, the dragon moved a chair away before sitting down on his haunches.

Pryce kept his eyes on the dragon as he picked up the burger, and in one, razor-toothed bite ate a good quarter of it. Following in the yellow dragon's example, Pryce turned to his food, dipping a fry in some ketchup before popping it in his mouth.

For a time, the two of them ate in awkward silence, neither one making any attempt to speak with the other, until finally, in an effort to spark conversation, the dragon spoke.

"My name is Static."

Looking up, Pryce turned his eyes on the dragon- apparently known as Static- as it watched him intently, expecting him to respond.

Before, he would have been overjoyed to be able to speak with a dragon face to face; but _now_ overwhelming anxiety and nervousness plagued him. With his heart beating in his chest, he slowly mustered the strength to part his lips...only for nothing to come out.

Shaking his nervousness off he tried again, articulating the words he wanted to say with his tongue. "I'm Pryce." He said tentatively.

The dragon shot him a comforting smile. "Nervous?" He asked softly.

When Pryce didn't answer, the dragon took it as confirmation.

Static smiled again. "hey, it's ok, I get it. You're going about your daily life, and then you suddenly find yourself in the presence of a great, yet intimidating, creature such as _myself._" He boasted highly of himself while flexing the muscles in his arms. "But you don't need to be nervous, I mean you no harm." Reaching across the table, Static took his scaly hand, and, in a show of good faith, clasped it over Pryce's.

Pryce recoiled from the touch at first, but slowly relaxed as the dragon's friendly demeanor became evident.

"You good?" The dragon asked.

Pryce only nodded his head.

"Good," Static said as he slowly retracted his hand.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Pryce looked to the dragon, who watched him with no ill-intent. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he apologetically addressed the dragon. "I' mm sorry, I just...I've had a lot on my mind lately."

Static quickly waved off his apology. "There's no need to be sorry." He said. "We all get nervous some times."

"Yeah, yeah I guess we do." Pryce smiled in Static's direction, earning him a smile right back as the dragon flashed his sharp teeth.

Having gotten over his nervous feelings, he was now visibly beaming with excitement that he was talking with a dragon. "This is amazing!" He said in glee. "I've been hoping I would be able to talk to one of you, but... I never got the chance."

"well now you've got the chance you wanted, is there anything you wanna say, wanna ask?"

Pryce rubbed his chin in thought, trying to think of what to ask yellow dragon in front of him. "What do you think of our world?" He asked finally.

"What do I think of your world?" Static repeated Pryce's question, rolling it on his tongue. "I think your world is great, it has a lot of amazing stuff: Delectable foods, diverse cultures, beautiful landscapes. And while your technology may not be as advanced as ours, you have some things that we don't, like, video games, we never came up with those. He looked Pryce in the eye. "And of course, can't forget you humans...So...Many...Humans!"

He said that last part in a bit of a strained voice, something Pryce found to be kind of odd.

As Static talked, Pryce noticed that he was smaller than most dragons he had seen; he was about the size of a horse, most other dragons were two to three times that size. Due to this fact, Pryce concluded that Static must be in his late teens or early twenties.

Pryce thought about what Jace had said, about how he thought the dragons were up to something, and how, for a while, he believed him. But _now _having met Static, Pryce realized that his fears had been for naught. "That guy was _so_ wrong!" He chuckled in a hushed voice.

"What was that?" Static raised his brow, his interest focused at Pryce's words.

Pryce dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "Oh, its nothing, it's just, I met this guy the other day, and he told me that some strange stuff was happening here, he even had himself convinced that you guys-" He gestured to Static. "-are involved!"

Shaking his head at the absurdity of it, Pryce turned his attention back to his food, dipping a fry in ketchup before eating it.

However, in doing so, he failed to notice that the expression on Static's face went from calm and friendly, to a deadly seriousness one. He narrowed his eyes, locking them onto Pryce's form.

"So as I was say-" Pryce turned back to face Static but choked on his words upon looking into his chilling yellow eyes.

"Is that so?" He asked suspiciously, a slight hint of venom in his voice.

The hairs of the back of Pryce's neck stood up straight. _That didn't sound good!_

"This _guy_ you mentioned, what'd you say his name was?" He asked with great interest.

Pryce began to fell the makings of cold sweat. The way the dragon was talking was sending Pryce multiple black flags, and the way he spoke about Jace, it was making it sound like...

_...No_

_OH GOD NO!_

_He's right...Jace is right!_

_And I just _had_ to tell the dragon sitting across from me that!_

When Pryce didn't answer, Static began to adopt an impatient tone. "Pryce! What was his name?"

Pryce could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. _What do I do? _He mildly panicked to himself.

_I can't tell him about Jace, who knows _what _they'll do to him? But at the same time, I can't ignore his question either, who knows what they'll do to _me?

_What I need to do is dance around the question, tell him what he wants, without selling out Jace._

"I never got his name." Pryce thought quickly. "The guy was very cagey, wouldn't tell me anything about him."

Static's eyes flashed with disappointment upon hearing that, before quickly regaining the hungry gleam they had. "well, what did he look like?"

"Uh...I didn't get the best look at him." He answered on the fly, vaguely. "It was kinda dark so I couldn't see him that much; he was wearing a hood, so his face was obscured by shadows." He hoped that his lies would be enough to appease the dragon's questions, to get him out of this mess.

The corners of Statics' mouth knit themselves into a frown at hearing those words. He let a frustrated sigh escape his lips after not getting what he wanted.

Deciding to cut the dragon off from asking more questions about Jace, Pryce pulled out his phone and fainted shock. "Wait! Is it two already?" He started to laugh forcibly as he stood up and began to pick up his trash. "I promised my cousin I'd meet him soon, looks like we're going to have to cut this little chat of ours short."

Pryce quickly turned away from the watching dragon, putting as much distance between them as he could.

As he left, he could still feel the dragon's cold hard stair boring down on him.

* * *

The snow-laden trees swayed gently in the wind; their wooden frames dancing in the breeze.

Beneath their icicle covered branches, Amy meandered through the local park without a care in the world. She wandered the snow-covered paths that were scattered around the park; letting nothing but her feet guide her.

After she took a shower at the motel; and some time to rest, Amy decided to go out and explore the town. She aimlessly wandered the streets for an hour or two; taking in the sights and talking with some locals, all the while with a pep in her step and a grin on her face. After a while, she found herself at the town park and decided to explore the little pocket of nature it held.

As she walked, she came across a stone bench. Reaching an arm down, she brushed the snow aside in little sweeping motions. Turning around, she sat down on the bench, letting her body adapt to fit the shape of the stone.

She took a deep breath, the pure, fresh air filling her lungs. Leaning back, she propped her hands up behind her head and let her eyelids drift shut. Relaxing her body, she turned her ears to pick up the sounds of the world around her. Listening closely, she could hear as the light breeze ruffled the leaves; as the trees creaked in the wake of the winds. She listened as the winter animals scampered on the ground and flew about the trees; the burning star above watching them as they foraged for food.

The sun's rays filtered down through the canopy of leaves; bathing the park in a golden glow. As Amy sat in this restful state, the light from the sun, filled her vision; making her closed eyelids take on a pink hue.

_This is nice. _She thought with a relaxing sigh.

Amy rested on that bench for several minutes, unmoving; until she heard some chittering off to her left. Cracking her eyes open, she turned her head and scanned the area for the source of the noise. Focusing her vision on the treeline, she searched the branches from which she believed the sound came.

She watched the area for signs of movement; a shift in the scenery to tell her something was there. After waiting a few moments, she heard some more chitters and looked to see a squirrel emerge from a hollow withing the tree. The squirrel scampered out onto one of the branches; its bushy tail following it with every step.

In its tiny paws, it held an acorn that it had saved during the warmer months. Amy watched the little rodent as it brought the nut up to its mouth and started to nibble at it; every bite it took helping to keep it alive and fed.

She watched the squirrel for a little while until it eventually scampered off; leaving her view.

Peeling her eyes from the spot the squirrel had resided, Amy decided to it was time to get moving again. Standing up, she stretched out her legs and arms; a feeling of relief passing through her body.

Making her way through the park, Amy passed other people as they enjoyed the park's beauty. One such person going so far as painting a portrait of a cluster of trees with birds flying around.

Eventually, Amy found herself in the center of the park. Where there was a large ornate fountain surrounded by more stone benches- -these ones without backs. The fountain sat drained of water for the winter, its marble bowl now filled with snow.

Amy wished that she could have seen the fountain when it was running; to see the light glint off the water as it cascaded into the bowl below.

As she admired the fountain, a strong gust of wind blew some strands of hair into her face, getting into her mouth and tickling her nose. Sputtering and spitting the hair out, she moved the now moist hair out of her face.

Having recovered from the burst of wind, Amy was about to be on her way until a shrill shriek caught her attention.

"...NO, Stop!"

She turned to see a young woman chasing after a baby blanket that had been blown free in the wind; the blanket skittered softly over the ground, the strong gusts blowing it in Amy's direction.

The blanket collided quietly with Amy's boots, hindering its escape. Reaching down, she grasped the soft material and picked it up.

She inspected the piece of fabric, her eyes gazing curiously over the bundle in her hands. The blanket was mostly yellow with a few spots of blue here and there; in the corner was a sewn-on image of a duckling. Patches of snow clung to the blanket in the spots in had made contact with the ground.

"Hey! You got it!" Amy looked up to see the woman approaching her, Her black hair disheveled, and her cheeks reddened from running.

"Here." She said handing the lady the blanket, the woman accepting it graciously.

"Oh thank you!" The woman said breathlessly.

Spreading the blanket out, she started to shake it out in order to get rid of any snow or dirt.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost this!" She addressed Amy. "This is the only blanket I have on hand for him." She gestured back the way she came to a man holding a crying baby boy. "I stupidly forget to bring more before we drove up here from Manhatten, so I've had to make do with this one."

"well, don't beat yourself up over it too much. We've all forgotten something at one point or another" Amy smiled supportively. "we had a family reunion last year, and I was tasked bringing the ham. But I was hanging out with a group of friends the night before and we all wound up getting hammered from one too many drinks. Soooo...sufice it to say, the people at that reunion were unhappy with me, to say the least." She said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Ouch! Compared to that, my problem doesn't seem that bad!" The lady commented, letting out a smirk.

The woman offered a handshake. "I'm Jemma."

"Amy" She replied taking Jemmas hand.

"So you're taking a trip too?" Amy noted.

Jemma nodded her head. "Yeah. It was my husband that wanted to come up so bad; he loved the Spyro games as a kid, and ever since they turned out to be real, he's been _very_ eager to come here."

Amy grinned. "Well, he certainly isn't alone in that regard, the dragons have caught the attention of many fanboys and fangirls- -myself included." She said placing a hand to her chest.

Jemma shook her head in annoyance. "People need to take it down a notch. Everyone's fawning over these dragons; acting like they're the second coming of Christ. When in reality- - there's nothing special about them."

"I just wish everyone would give it a rest!" Jemma said in exasperation.

"well." Amy began after listening to Jemma's words. "That...may be so...but can you blame them? Nothing like this has ever happened before in the history of the world, so don't you think it would attract a lot of attention?"

"Imagine if aliens arrived in big flashy spaceships, don't you think the world would start going absolutely_ crazy _over this new discovery? That they would start obsessing with everything related to the aliens?"

"I...I guess." Jemma said in understanding reluctance.

"just give the world some time," Amy said easily. "Once they've had their fill, they'll calm down a bit."

Jemma silently nodded her head. "Yeah, I know you're right, it's just...I can not wait till that happens and everything goes back to normal." She groaned.

Before Amy could speak again, a whiny voice cut through the air.

"Jemma! I need your help!" Her husband cried, their baby crying up a storm in his arms.

"He's getting fussy and I can't calm him down! Can you please come to get him!"

Jemma turned back to face with Amy an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, I gotta go, duty calls." She laughed before her face took on a disgusted expression. "Actually, no...its probably doodie calling."

With that last sour note, Jemma gave Amy one last bit of thanks before rushing off to tend to he baby.

Amy never had kids of her own, but she did have younger siblings, and as such would often have to help take care of them. So she knew how much of a handful babies could be. Her heart went out to the woman.

Turning back to look at the fountain, her stomach suddenly growled, a low groan telling her it was time to eat.

As she thought back to the restaurants the cab driver told her about, the corners of her mouth began to turn upwards into a grin.

"How do I get to terry street from here?" She asked no one in particular.

* * *

Within a series of hastily dugout tunnels, a dragon navigated his way through them, his claws clicking on the stone floor. Lights were attached to metal fixtures lining the sides of the tunnels, casting a dim glow onto the rock walls, and the dragon's orange scales.

These tunnels weren't made with comfort in mind, they were situated just outside of Angle Springs as part of a facility that kept tabs on the local human population.

Part of their job here was to keep up appearances with the humans; make them believe they were their allies. They had several agents in the field helping to do just that.

These agents were to act all friendly around the humans; giving off smiles and selling the illusion that they meant no harm. But in reality, they were really gathering information on their enemies; observing the general populace up close, and informing the higher-ups if they discovered something of interest.

Most of these agents were here in Angle Springs, but they had begun to branch out and send them to other outlying towns and cities, such as the island of Manhattan. They had even sent some agents overseas to the UK, and other neighboring countries.

They were also in the process of having their agents infiltrate military bases.

Because of their work here, when it came time to make their move- -the humans would never see it coming. They would never anticipate that their new 'allies' were going to stab them in the back.

Traversing down the tunnel, he passed a few other dragons going about their own way- - each one giving him the respect he deserved.

Upon arriving at a branch in the path, he broke off from the main tunnel and found himself in a large room carved out of the rock.

The room had dragons swarming all over the place, their faces glued to computer monitors. Attached to the far wall was a big screen, on which live feeds brought back real-time images and videos of the town just outside.

This was the control center for the facility, where all the dark magic happened.

It wasn't long before his presence was made known, as a burly Nightwing observing the live feeds from the town quickly took notice of him.

"Ahh, Commander Flame! There you are!" The Nightwing exclaimed joyously. He lifted a wing in a gesture to join him. "Come. Come, look at this!" He said eagerly, his eyes glued to the screen.

Flame quickly stepped through the aisles of dragons as he crossed the room to meet up with the Nightwing.

"Hiddenvail!" Flame greeted the black dragon as he came to stand beside him. "What brings you up from down below?"

Hiddenvail swiftly shushed him by waving an arm in front of his face. "Not now! Look at this!" He said with the same eagerness from before, his attention firmly on the screen.

Flame followed his gaze to one of the feeds in the lower-left corner; it showed a man who had been foolish enough to climb up a statue of a human man, only to slip on a patch of ice. He was now currently being suspended by the only article of clothing the statue's hand caught- -his underpants.

The corners of Flames mouth turned upwards in a smirk at the amusing sight.

_That's gotta hurt!_ He mused to himself.

"Some of these pathetic humans are absolute idiots!" Hiddenvail chuckled to himself.

While Flame was inclined to agree with him on that notion, there were matters to be discussed that were _far_ more important than a man hanging from his underpants.

Getting a composure over himself, he turned to face the laughing Nightwing once more, a serious expression on his face. "Hiddenvail! We need to talk!"

Wiping a tear of joy from his eye, Hiddenvail pealed his attention away from the screen to turned to address Flame. "Yes, yes, of course...what was it you asked again?" The Nightwing asked bluntly, having already forgotten.

Flame groaned internally, Hiddenvail had the memory capacity of a goldfish.

"What brings you up from down below?" He asked impatiently.

The Nightwings face took on a confused expression, before quickly lighting up in realization. "Ohh! Yes, yes, why am I- -yes!" He spouted out as he caught on to what Flame was asking.

"The reason I'm up here is to inform you- - that we need more workers. We're moving at too slow of a pace, the machine is barely a quarter of the way to being finished. If we don't get more help down there, we will _not_ be finished in time for the deadline!"

There weren't enough workers? Well, that wasn't good, this machine they were building was supposed to play a_ big_ role in the extermination of the humans- -it _had_ to be finished.

Flame nodded his head in agreement."We need to finish the machine. If you need more workers, I will get you more workers!"

The Nightwing breathed a sigh of relief. "thank you, commander" He graciously bowed his head in thanks.

"No need to thank me Hiddenvail, we all need that machine done as soon as possible." He said brushing off his thanks.

After he said that however, a thought came to him. Looking back to the Nightwing, he addressed him once more." Hiddenvail? If all you needed to do was ask for more workers, then why didn't you just call" Flame asked confused.

Hiddenvail shrugged his shoulders."I figured that this would be better discussed in person. Plus...I wanted to get out for a change, I've haven't seen sunlight in almost a month!" He added as an afterthought.

Flame could understand the kind of position the Nightwing was coming from. the project he was working on demanded his whole attention and didn't leave much free time.

"Well, in that case, enjoy your time in the sun. And in the meantime, I will see on getting you more workers, the sooner the machine is finished- - the sooner we can wipe out the humans."

"Um, excuse me?" A new voice abruptly cut through the air. Turning their heads, Flame and Hiddenvail looked to where the voice had come from.

A little way across from them, sitting in front of a computer, was a brown dragon, his hand raised in the air like he was in school.

Flame turned to face him fully, curiosity plastered on his muzzle."Yes?" He asked the brown dragon.

At being spoken to by Flame, all eyes in the room were now focused on him. He slightly shrank in on himself at all the attention; before quickly getting over it and mustering the courage to speak.

"Um." He tentatively began. "I get that we want the humans extinct, but, I don't get why?"

At him saying those words, the room was plunged into silence, with some of the room's occupants sending him glares.

Flame narrowed his eyes at the offending dragon, who recoiled once again at all the attention his question had received.

"what's your name," He asked the brown dragon as he slowly inched his way towards him.

"Uh...G-Gorlon!" He stuttered out, Flames unwavering gaze unnerving him.

"Well, Gorlon." Flame began, growing ever closer to the brown dragon, his voice cool and collected. "Judging by the mere fact that you asked that question, I can only surmise that you have_ never_ read a history file.

Gorlon slowly shook his head no.

"Just as I thought." Flame noted. "Because if you had, you would never have asked that question. You would _know_ why the human race needs to be eradicated; you would know what they used to be...and what they could do." He spoke firmly, his eyes boring into those of the brown dragon.

Gorlon gulped. "W-what could they do?" He asked meekly.

Flame narrowed his eyes once more. "You wanna know what they used to be?"

Gorlon nodded his head.

"Then go look it up!" He said harshly.

The brown dragon looked down at the ground. "Yes sir!" He said, his voice wavering.

Flame turned away from the dragon, annoyed.

He hated it when lazy dragons couldn't even be bothered to learn their history. why were they even here? In his eyes, those who wouldn't learn about the past had _no_ place in this operation.

He turned back to face Hiddenvail, who had been waiting patiently for him to finish.

"Sorry about that."

"It's completely fine!" He stated easily. "However, I do think that it is time I made my leave, want to do some things before I head back down below."

Flame nodded his head in understanding.

"Well!" Hiddenvail started." Guess I'll be on my way." He said turning to leave.

"I'll make sure you get some more workers soon!" Flame called out to the departing Nightwing.

Just as the midnight black scales of the Nightwing passed out of the room, they were quickly replaced with the sharp red ones of a messenger dragon.

She ran into the dragon made cave, her facial expression that one of urgency.

"Commander Flame!" She yelled out as she rushed over to him. She clutched her stomach as she greedily gasped for air. "Commander Flame!" She said again, her heaving pants subsiding. "I have urgent news!"

"From Spyro?" Flame asked.

The messenger shook her head frantically. "No. It's from one of the agents in the field. He said that he encountered a human that let slip very serious information. He said-he said." Her words were cut off as she started gasping for breath again.

"What! What did he say!" Flame asked in a sense of urgency.

"SOMEONE'S ONTO US!" She blurted out, spittle flying from her mouth.

Flame visibly froze at those words, every part of his being trying to register what she just said.

"W-what. Did you just say?" He asked tentatively.

"Someones onto us." She repeated, making sure he heard it right.

"The agent met a man out in the town, who said that he met someone who knew that we're up to something."

Flames face paled.

"The man didn't believe what he was told, so he was comfortable telling the agent known as Static what this other person told _him_. So then the agent, Static, tried to squeeze more details out of him, but he must have spooked him because soon after the man ran off"

"He tailed the man for a while, and he watched him run into a donut shop- - of which he's yet to come out. So Static sent me to come and tell you." She finished.

Flame stood there in silence, taking in all she said.

"This is...very serious!" He said gravely. "And it must be dealt with immediately!"

He locked eyes with the messenger. "We know where he is, yes?" He asked to reaffirm the man's whereabouts.

The red-scaled dragon nodded her head. "Yes sir, as I said, the agent followed the man to a donut shop, and he so far hasn't left."

"Good." He said as he began to leave the room, the messenger watching him go. "I'll be going to go meet up with this agent, and under the cover of night, we'll snatch this man before he has a chance to get away!"

* * *

'The Heaven' was a suitable name for this donut shop.

Upon arriving, Amy was greeted with a cute shop front with bright colors and various types of donuts spray-painted onto the walls. People could be seen entering and exiting through the large ornate double doors that led into the shop, the sweet smells of sugary confections drifting out every time they were opened. Atop the door was a large sign that depicted a cloud with a sun with a smiley face shining behind it,- - greeting the customers as they approached.

Amy stepped up to the double doors and pulled on the handle. It's cold metal surface biting at her exposed skin as she pulled the door open.

Stepping into the donut shop, the sweet smells from before increased tenfold as they assaulted her nose and made her mouth water.

The sight in front of her didn't help much either.

Across the way from her, was a long glass case filled to the brim with countless types of donuts. Just like the driver said.

People standing in line would peer over the selection of donuts, while others at the register were handed a bag of donuts after paying.

Eager to get in on the action, Amy bound forward over the checker tiled floor and got in line with the other people. As she waited, she looked into the glass case at the various types of donuts available.

Each type of donut had a little sign with fancy writing saying what they were. Many of the varieties the driver mentioned where there: Cookie dough, cotton candy, large and miniature donuts. But there were also a few that he didn't talk about, there was one filled with mint paste, and one filled with buttercream frosting.

They also had a line of savory donuts that were housed in a heated case that was separate from the others. One of them was filled with warm nacho cheese with shredded steak sprinkled on top. There was even a donut burger.

At the end of the case was a special freezer where they housed the ice-cream filled donuts the drive had oh so lustfully talked about- -she had to have one.

When it came time for her to order, she stepped up to the counter gleefully, she was enthusiastic, to say the least.

The man at the counter...not so much.

"Hello, welcome to the heaven donut shop, how may we help you on this beautiful day?" He said in a monotone voice with no detection of spirit. His heart obviously wasn't into this, his uniform being a clear example of that.

The uniforms the other workers wore were explosions of color, the uniforms had a light blue base with touches of pink that gave it a candy-like aesthetic. They wore cute little sailor hats atop their heads that really tied the whole outfit together.

Honestly, the sailor hats and the outfits together gave her a scoops ahoy vibe.

The other workers wore their outfits with pride, they were proud to be working here.

The man in front of her was not.

His uniform was unkempt and dirty, with streaks of various unidentifiable smudges and stains obscuring its bright, colorful pallet. The hat on his head had been discarded. And his shoulders were slumped down.

Amy regarded the man with a frown, anyone working in a place as glorious as this, should be as happy as she is.

"Hey, why so glum, chum?" She said in as perky a voice she could manage. "You should be happy, you work in a _donut shop_ of all places. _A DONUT SHOP_!" She practically screamed. "How can you be so down?"

The man turned his eyes up to look at her, a sense of emptiness emanating from them. "You haven't lived my life." He said dryly. "What are you gonna have?"

Amy sighed internally, oh well, she tried.

She took a quick look at the assortment of donuts before turning back to the employee. "I'll have one cookie dough donut, and a mint donut. As well as one of those nacho cheese donuts, and an ice-cream filled one."

After she gave him her order, he ran everything through the system and came up with her bill. "That'll be nineteen, ninety-five." He said in that monotone voice of his.

Reaching into her wallet, she fished out the required sum and passed it to the man, who unceremoniously snatched it away from her. Handing her the recite, he motioned her over to the other end of the counter where she would wait for her order. Taking her leave, she let the next person in line take their order as she went to pick up her food.

She watched another employee- - this one much more upbeat- - taking the donuts she ordered and place them into a small box. After placing the last donut in, the lady closed the lid of the box and handed it to Amy, who accepted it with a bright smile.

With the box in hand, Amy turned away from the counter and started looking for a place to sit. Booths lined the walls, while tables and chairs could be found scattered in-between. However, most of the booths and tables were taken, with people either eating or talking amongst one another.

As she searched the sea of heads for a place to sit, she posted an unoccupied booth in the back corner. Acting fast before it was taken, she rushed over to the open seat, weaving through and past eating patrons.

Stepping up to the booth, she placed her food on the table before taking a seat on it the upholstered surface of the chair.

Having gotten settled in, she took hold of the box of donuts and pulled it closer to her. Lifting the flap, she gazed in lust down at the glazed and frosted confections. She hovered her hand over the different donuts, unsure of which one to take out first, but after many internal debates- -she went with the cookie dough one.

She lifted the doughy treat up to her mouth. But before she could take a bite, she noticed something in the back corner.

In the farthest back booth, was a man wearing a tattered coat who seemed nervous about something. He was acting all flighty and shifty, and he would constantly peeking out the blinded window as if he was looking for someone.

She tried to ignore him and go back to her food, but try as hard as she might she just couldn't do it. As her compassion got the best of her, she slipped out of her seat, picked up the box of donuts, and made her way to the other booth.

The man didn't seem to notice her approach, he was too busy looking out the window as if his life depended on it.

Slipping into the seat across from him, she looked at his distressed face, and couldn't help but feel sympathy for him.

"Excuse me, sir, are you all right?" She asked calmly.

At those words, the man practically jumped out of his skin, his panicked eyes darting over to her, before quickly calming down upon realizing that she was not who he was afraid of.

"Are you ok?" She asked again.

Ignoring her words, he turned back to the window and proceeded to once again, discreetly peek out its blinds. "You probably shouldn't be talking to me!" He replied evasively, his eyes still looking at the streets outside.

She cocked an eyebrow." Why shouldn't I talk to you?"

He spared her a quick glance, before turning his eyes back to the street. "Because I made a bone-headed move, and now I'm about to pay for it- -possibly with my life!"

Ok, that sounded serious, she didn't want to get in trouble as this man had; but she had offered her help- -she couldn't back out now.

She brought up the most helpful face she could in spite of the situation. "Look, sir, I want to help, but I can't if you don't let me. What's going on?"

The man sat there in silence, making no move to reply, But after a few seconds, the men let out a sigh. He turned back to face her, his eyes filled with remorse. "Are you sure you want to get involved in this?"

* * *

Pryce watched this strange woman in front of him. When she first announced herself, he saw the bright yellow of her coat and thought Static had found him, but he calmed down when he realized it was just a woman.

From there, she had tried to see if he needed help, and while it was admirable, she had no part getting mixed up in his mistake. He had tried to turn her away, spare her from what was coming for him- - but she didn't leave. She was set on helping him, and it was clear she wasn't going to just go away.

And so with a heavy heart- -and the realization that he might be condemning someone to share his fate- - he turned back to face the woman.

"Are you sure you want to get involved in this?"

She stayed silent for a moment as if contemplating whether or not she wanted a part in this.

She slowly shook her head. "No...not really." She said finally.

Pryce was about to breathe a sigh of relief at those words, but the woman spoke up again, stealing the breath from his lungs.

"But if I leave, and let you deal with this problem by yourself- -then what kind of person would I be?" She asked, more to herself, than to Pryce.

_A smart one, and a safe one! _He commented internally.

"So...whats wrong? She asked for a final time.

Pryce sighed again. He gazed around the room, making sure no one was within earshot before addressing the woman.

"I screwed up!"

He told her everything, about his ill-fated talk with Static. How he had unwittingly revealed that someone was aware of what they were doing- -whatever that was. And how he believed that Static had started to follow him after he left, to how he ultimately hid in a donut shop.

The woman- -Amy, she said her name was- - listened to his whole story.

She didn't seem to belive him though, thinking the notion that the dragons were bad to be utter nonsense. Whatever the dragons were hiding, they hid it well enough to make everyone think they were incapable of anything sinister.

Although she didn't believe his story, she was still willing to listen to him and try to aid in his plight.

She stuck with him for quite some time to make sure he was all right, even as the donut shop started to die down, and the last rays from the sun died like embers as it sank below the horizon.

At one point, Amy offered him one of her donuts, and while he initially declined, she insisted until he had no choice but to accept.

Every now and then, he would shift his eyes back over to the window to see if he could spot the damn yellow dragon, but he never saw him. Maybe Static didn't know where he was, maybe he lost him hours ago.

Whatever the case was, Pryce didn't feel comfortable with leaving the safety of the donut shop just yet.

.

It was closing time. The sun had set hours ago, the remaining customers being slowly pushed out so that the staff could close up.

Pryce glanced at the outside world once again, it was bare and dark- -all traffic had died down in this area.

He had still seen no sign of Static, and that prompted him to believe that the coast was clear. But he couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness.

"It's ok Pryce," Amy said while giving his shoulder a reaffirming clasp. "There's no dragon out there trying to get you, there's_ no one _ out there, you're fine!"

Pryce looked up into her eyes from where he sat, in them, he saw nothing but reassurance.

He hesitantly nodded his head, before taking a calming sigh.

"You're right. He said rubbing his brow. "I'm just freaking myself out, I haven't even seen a sigh of Static since I got here. I'm getting myself all worked up over nothing"

He slipped out of the booth seat and got up to join Amy, who had been standing by him supportively.

"You ready to go?" She asked him.

He searched out his muscles, earning a few pops from some of his joints. He nodded his head again. "Yeah..yeah I'm ready to go."

Letting a large smile adorn her face, Amy led the two of them to the door.

They were the last customers here, everyone else had already left- -and he was ready to do the same. Reaching the exit, they were greeted by a less than enthusiastic employee, who was waiting to lock up behind them.

"That's Grumpy Mcnofun," Amy whispered into his ear as they passed the pouty worker. "He works in an amazing place, and he hates it- -that has to be some kind of crime!" She quietly raged in his ear.

A part of him laughed at how passionate Amy could get over a man that didn't enjoy working in a donut shop- -like it was some kind of dream job, working with donuts.

As soon as they cleared the doors, Pryce heard them close shut and looked back to see the employee hurriedly locking up.

Turning back to face the street in front of him, he took in a road devoid of life, the only ones there being him and Amy.

Walking away from the shop, they began to make their way down the frozen sidewalk, the only sounds coming from the footfalls of their shoes.

"Hey uh," Pryce started while rubbing the back of his neck."Thanks for helping me out back there and staying with me for all that time- -I really appreciate it."

Amy flashed a warm smile, the kind that makes you feel safe and secure. "No problem, I was happy to help." She said easily.

"well, is there anything I can do to repay you?" He asked, the lights from the storefronts casting a dim glow on his face.

"No, it's all right, I just like to help, that's all." She said, dismissing his offer.

Pryce shrugged his shoulders. "All right, if you insist."

As they walked, their attention absorbed in their conversation, they failed to notice a scaly figure slinking up behind them.

Pryce let out an involuntary yawn, today's antics must have left him more tired than he thought. "Uh, Didn't realize I was so tired." He said, bringing a hand up to rub at his eye. "It's probably time for me to retire to my room."

"You have a place to stay, correct?" He asked, turning to the blonde-haired woman. "I just wanna make sure you have somewhere to go before we go our separate ways."

"Oh yes!" Amy nodded vigorously. "I have a room at the halo ring motel."

Pryce let his hand drop to his side, all feeling of sleep being away temporary. "Wait, you have a room at the halo ring?" He asked in surprise.

She nodded, confused.

Pryce let out a half-laugh. "I have a room there too. What number are you, I'm in eighteen."

Amy seemed to do a double-take. "I'm in room seventeen!" She laughed in shock.

He let loose a hearty smile."What are the odds that two strangers who met in a donut shop, end up staying only a few feet from each other?"

"Apparently, pretty good," Amy said in a mild gasp of surprise.

As the news that they were apparently neighbors died down, Pryce could feel the makings of sleep finding their way back. Letting out another yawn, he looked to face Amy, who was also visibly tired.

"So, neighbor." He said, testing out the word. "What do you say we make our way back to the motel and retire for the night?"

Amy rubbed at her eye much as Pryce had. "Yeah, yeah, I think that's a good idea." She said surprising a yawn.

But before they were able to do that, however, something struck them hard in the backs of their heads, knocking them out cold and causing their bodies to fall limply to the freezing ground.

* * *

Flame walked up to where Static stood, the unconscious bodies of two humans laying before him.

"Well done Static." He said, appraising the yellow dragon's work.

Static took those words with pride, puffing out his chest in accomplishment. "Thank you, sir!"

Flame turned his eyes onto one of the two humans- -the male. "So, this is the human that knows about the person that's onto us?"

"Yes sir, his name is Pryce, and he's met someone that is suspicious of us." Static confirmed.

"We need to find out who's onto us." He said while motioning over two dragons who had been standing off to the side to come forward. "If the truth gets out, it'll just make things harder."

"What should we do with them sir?" One of the unnamed dragons asked.

Flame considered what to do for a moment, before remembering something that had been spoken earlier. "Send them down below to Hiddenvail, tell him I got him some new workers!"

* * *

**I'm sorry I made you guys wait so long, this chapter took a lot longer than I thought it would. But it's out now and that's all that matters.**

**This chapter comes in at twelve thousand words, The first one I've ever written to surpass ten-k numbers, I pretty proud of myself.**

**Review, favorite, and follow.**


	6. Evidence

**Congrats to Justanotherguy208, While they didn't find any of the references I had intended to be found, they caught a reference that I didn't even realize I put in. Apparently, I accidentally referenced the ring planet from halo, now I've never actually played the halo games, on account that I have never had an Xbox, but barring that, I am aware that halo is some sort of ring planet thing, I think.**

* * *

EVIDENCE

* * *

The garage was alive with activity, the sound of metal clanking, and lugnuts being drilled into place reverberated through the air as the mechanics did their jobs. Cars and trucks were held suspended up in the air, their undercarriages exposed as they were worked away on.

The scent of oil filled the air, spots of the stuff residing all over the floor, and on various tools.

A pair of oil-stained, woman sized boots stuck out from under a ford ram, their owner hidden from the world as she worked on the underside of the truck. She tinkered away at the truck's inner workings, her fingers coated in the black, grimy substance that helped the vehicle run.

Griping a flashlight in her dirty hands, she pointed it upwards. Beams of light shot up from the little bulb and illuminated the trucks dirty undercarriage.

Reaching her hand up, she began to inspect the gas line. She dragged her fingers across the small tube, examining it for any fuel leaks; As she neared the spot where the line filtered into the tank, her index finger caught on a small fissure in the line.

Inspecting the tear closer, she pressed her finger into it and was met with a cool dampness

Bringing her finger up to her nose, she inhaled the scent of gasoline.

_There it is_.

Pulling out from under the truck, she got to her feet and wiped the oil off of her hands with a rag laying nearby.

"So, did you find it, Maddie?" Came a voice to her right.

Moving an errant lock of obsidian hair out of her eye, she turned to face her coworker Carl, a smallish man with a balding head and a distended gut.

"Yeah, I found it." Said, Maddie. "The fuel line has a tear in it, just before it travels into the tank. Gonna need to replace it."

Carl gave a thankful nod. "All right, I'll get on that. Thanks, Maddie."

"No problem bud." She said, giving the man a hearty pat on the back.

Brushing past him, Maddie started to work her way towards the opposite end of the garage. The sound of drills whirring and engines running bit at her ears; the scent of oil and gasoline filling her nostrils.

Most other people would probably want to get away as soon as possible; to get some peace and quiet from the sounds and smells of the garage.

Not Maddie Baker.

To her, it felt like home.

She had spent her whole life around machines; ever since she was a little kid, she would constantly find her father working out in the garage, tinkering on his Camaro or his old, beat-up dirt bike. She would go out and watch him work, her eyes wide like an owl as she watched with fervor.

Maddie didn't just watch, however, she would also lend her father a hand from time to time; occasionally handing him a wrench or some other tool he needed. As the years dragged on, she started helping him with messier tasks, such as changing the oil.

Through watching him work all those years, she began to pick up the tools of the trade, becoming more familiar with engines and automotive work. By the time she was fifteen, she was able to do things like repairing a carburetor, changing the battery, or tending to the engine.

The two of them were able to bond over mechanic work; it brought out something in both of them- - a passion that burned like the sun. She enjoyed working on this hobby she loved, something her father wholeheartedly encouraged.

Her mother, however, never seemed to understand her passion for machines; always trying to project the perfect life onto her. Maddie's mom had always believed that messing around with rusty metal and getting covered in dirty, grimy oil, was no kind of lifestyle for a young woman like herself. She would constantly nag at her like an annoying fly that won't leave you alone. She would repeatedly spout at Maddie that she should not be spending her time around grease-covered hobos in jumpsuits, or be elbow deep into the metallic bowels of an automobile. She wanted Maddie to be a respectable businesswoman who held her head high, with enough cunning to secure even the most elusive of deals; or as an FBI agent on the top of her game, with the brains to crack even the toughest of cases.

But, as she constantly told her mom, she was not any of those things- -she was a grease monkey, just like her father.

She stepped up to an old metal desk, its dirty tabletop covered in automotive magazines, tools, and car parts. She grasped an old dirt bike carburetor that she had cleaned up recently and gave it a quick once over to make sure she hadn't missed anything. Confident with her work, she placed it into an old brown bag, the leather lining it was torn and frayed in certain places, giving off a blotchy appearance.

Grabbing one of the magazines from the desk, she put it in the bag as well before slinging it over one shoulder. Turning on the balls of her heels, she began to make her way to the front of the shop, passing back through the maze of cars and mechanics.

Approaching an open doorway, she rapped her knuckles on the doorframe.

"Come in." Boomed a deep voice.

Doing as told, Maddie passed under the doorframe. She entered a small room, the fluorescent lights overhead casting the room in a heavenly glow. In here, the smells from the garage were heavily subdued, resulting in only the slightest hint of oil.

Across the room sat a middle-aged man, he had his back turned to her as he sang a joyous tune whilst tending to rows of trophies upon a shelf- -trophies which sparkled like jewels.

"Hmm" She grunted, clearing her throat and getting the man's attention.

The man turned around in his chain, the wheels on the bottom making a soft squeaking sound as he changed position. Upon seeing her, his eyes lit up like Christmas lights, and his scraggly beard contorted as his mouth curled up into a joyful smile.

"Maddie!" the man bellowed happily. "How's my favorite mechanic?"

The corner of her mouth turned upwards into a slight smirk. "I'm doing good Uncle Clancy." Clancy was an old family friend, he had been there when she was born and was the closest thing she had to an uncle.

Clancy clasped his hands together, earning a loud clap that bit at her ears, making her wince slightly. "That's what I like to hear. So!" He exclaimed suddenly, catching her off guard. "Do you have any juicy gossip?" He asked eagerly, his eyes and ears alert and salivating, ready to bite at the bit for anything she could tell him.

"...Uh..no, no, no gossip!" She said slowly, formulating the words on her tongue.

Her uncle's mouth turned downwards into a pout and he folded his arms in an upset manner. "You're no fun!" He said like an upset child who had been told no to something he wanted.

"Anyway!" He abruptly changed his attitude once again. "I was thinking about getting an aquarium for my office, but I can't decide between salt or freshwater fish," He said bringing up his hands in exasperation. "Freshwater fish are cheaper and easier to take care of, but saltwater fish can come in more vibrant colors- -I just don't know what to do!"

She sighed mentally, bringing her hand up she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Aside from being the shop's owner and her uncle; Clancy was also a bit of a town treasure and oddity. He was well known and loved in their community, being a bit of a celebrity. He had a very unique personality: the easiest guy to approach, one of the nicest people you would _ever_ meet, and all around just a great guy.

But he was also a bit...eccentric.

He would sometimes go off on obsessed tangents, rambling on about some random subject, before quickly forgetting about it in favor of some _other_ random subject. He also had a habit of naming inanimate objects and talking to them as if they were real people. Most notably, however, was his tendency to just go off and do the absolute strangest things, whether it's making a ham, cheese and spaghetti sandwich, yodeling in nothing but his underpants, or just wearing an old-timey bathing suit that he said 'lived in the Himalayas' in public.

But, maybe that was why the townspeople loved him so much, for his personality- -his weird, yet oddly loveable, personality.

"So, I was thinking-"

"I'm clocking out for the day!" Maddie interjected, suddenly, in an effort to keep her uncle from getting on another longwinded rant.

Clancy's facial features slowly contorted, melting like a popsicle as he visibly began to fall apart. "Yo-you're l-leaving?" He managed out, his lips trembling. his eyes on the verge of tears. "B-but, you've barely even been here that l-long?"

"Sorry uncle Clancy, if I'm going to get this bike done on time I'm going to have to take some extra time off." She sighed trying to console him.

At those words, her uncle snapped to attention, his childlike sob fit seemingly forgotten. "Oh, the bike!" He blurted in realization. "How far along is it?"

"Close." She admitted, not at all fazed by his sudden change of mood. "But it's not done yet." The 'bike' in question was her father's old dirt bike, which he had meant to fix up but never got around to. But with his fiftieth birthday coming up soon, Maddie felt that fixing up his old bike and surprising him with it was the best present she could give.

Clancy gave a puff of air. "Wow, Jim is really lucky to have such a caring daughter like you, willing to go above and beyond for him. I wish I had a kid _half _as thoughtful as you." He said kindly.

Maddie's cheeks flushed red as she tried _and failed _to hide her face. "Thank you."

"Now go on!" He urged, making shooing motions with his hands, urging her out. "That bike isn't going to fix its self."

"You're right." She said, her face returning to its normal hues. "Well, it was nice speaking to you." She said before heading back out through the open doorway.

"It was nice speaking to you, too!" Her uncle called out to her as she left, his voice echoing after her.

.

Maddie stepped up to the garage door, it's rickety frame and poor condition a clear sign that it's seen its fair share of days. Wrapping her fingers around the handle on the front- -it was one of those old manual garages- -she lifted the door, its hinges groaning and squeaking as it was moved open. Rays of the sun's amber light filtered in through the open door, fully illuminating the contents of the garage within its natural light.

It was a small, one-car garage that was separated from the rest of the house, a sad little thing at the edge of her property. She entered the little garage, coming to a halt just beyond its threshold. While the small space was _in theory_ big enough to hold a car- -she had never actually parked one in there- - it would never be able to take one at the state it was in now. it was cluttered beyond imagination, shelves lined the walls, all of them stacked to the brim with, tools, car parts, cans of oil, and other miscellaneous objects.

There were streaks and splotches of oil on practically every surface, the floor, on the shelves, on a desk to the side, there was even a spot of it on the ceiling- -she could not for the life of her remember how she had managed _that_ one.

But the most striking feature was the cherry red honda resting in the center of the small garage, like a priceless sapphire resting atop a pile of gold.

Pulling out the carburetor, she hung the bag on a rack and approached the dirt bike. It was in serious disrepair, almost every part of it had to be replaced or repaired at one point or another, the wheels were corroded, the braking mechanism was shot, the suspension was bad, and the gas tank had to be replaced. And those were just the ones that she could think of at the top of her head.

Those were all things that she would have to get to at a later date, but for now, her focus was on replacing the carburetor. But first, she had to open the bike up to do that. Grabbing a drill off of one of the shelves, she held down the trigger to test if it had enough juice. The little bit at the end started to spin rapidly, giving a loud whirring noise as a little light on the drill lit up.

Confident in its power supply, she took her finger off the power button and turned towards the bike.

The first step was taking off the seat. Bringing the drill around, she stuck it into a small hole just behind the seat and powers up the drill, it flared up with a mighty roar as the bit spun, spinning the screw along with it. Letting the drill come to a stop, she pulled it out of the hole and let the small metal object fall freely into her hand.

Depositing the screw on the desk, she went to the opposite side of the bike where she proceeded to do the exact same thing as before.

Setting down the drill and the second screw, she moved into a position to remove the seat from the bike. She placed her hands underneath it and lifted the seat with zero resistance. Taking a quick glance at it, she noted how the leather covering it was torn and scratched, exposing the soft foam underneath, it would need to be replaced soon, she concluded before tossing it aside.

The next she did- -after pulling the gas tank strap off the tank- - was remove the subframe,. Just like before, she used her drill to remove the screws- -two on either side- - that held the subframe on to the bike. Then she took a screwdriver and used it to loosen up the air bolt clamps on the backside of the carburetor. Ditching the screwdriver, she took hold of the subframe and began to wiggle it free of the bike- -while it did offer _some_ resistance, it came off fairly easily. She held the hunk of metal and plastic in her arms, it had a fair amount of heft to it, but not too much to where it made her muscles burn. She set it off by the side of the garage before she got back to work.

She removed a couple of components around the carburetor, before maneuvering it around to get at the throttle assembly. Grabbing hold of the screwdriver once more, she took hold of the carburetor- -mainly the throttle cap- - and began to undo the screws. One by one, she took the little bits of metal out, and finally separated the carburetor from the bike.

She took a long glance at the old carburetor, it was in such bad shape it was ridiculous, the entire thing was covered in so much rust she thought it had to have broken some kind of record, not to mention that it was so old that it could pass as a fossil.

But anyway, now that she had the old one out, it was time to replace it with the new carburetor. Chucking the old one aside like an old rag, she took the new one and got to work on installing it.

.

The position of the sun slowly dipped lower and lower, transforming the sky into a resplendent collage of purples, blues, and oranges, giving off a calming and serene feeling for those that were to look at it. Maddie, however, was _not_ one of those people, she was not someone sitting on a porch enjoying a beautiful sunset, watching as the sky was practically lit on fire. She was not someone relaxing the day away, lounging on a swing as the local star dipped below the horizon.

No, what Maddie Baker was doing wasn't any of those things, instead, she could still be found in that tiny, claustrophobic garage, occupying herself working on the dirt bike, her commitment and dedication to this project never wavering. When it came to mechanic work, she often found herself getting sucked in by it. It was her favorite pastime, there was nothing in the world she enjoyed more- -so it made sense that she would completely be absorbed by it, with hours often slipping past, unnoticed by her until she finished.

This was another one of those times. After installing the new carburetor, she went to work on tweaking and repairing a few components to the bike that did not need to be replaced, such as upping the suspension or fine-tuning the steering.

Maddie sat up, her eyelids beginning to feel heavy and her movements lethargic. Craning her neck in the direction of the garage door, she saw that it had gotten dark out, the blue sky replaced with that of twilight. Wow. She had been out here longer than she realized.

She stood up, her tired muscles groaning out at the action. She stretched out her arms to there fullest, only stopping when she heard that satisfying _pop!_ Man, she loved Mechanic work, but oh, was it tiring.

Exiting the small space that passed as a garage, she took hold of the door and began to lower it, eventually letting it fall free to the floor with a loud _SLAM!. _

Turning around, she directed herself towards her house, a small, simple place with a single bedroom and other basic amenities that an independent young woman could need. Crossing the lawn- -the grass overgrown and buried under a blanket of snow- - she stepped up onto the porch. The old wood creaked under her weight, eliciting a groan like it was about to break into a thousand pieces.

As Maddie stood there, she took a deep, invigorating breath, letting the crisp evening air fill her lungs and leaving her refreshed. As much as she loved it at the garage, the air there always stank of oil and gas, so the fresh taste of pure oxygen was a nice change of pace from that.

Her moment of enjoying the fresh air done, she turned towards the front door and reached for the little nob on the side, but before she could twist it open, however, a strange sound danced its way across her ears.

It came off as a soft crackling noise, like the snowy static you would get from old TVs when the signal was lost. She pulled away from the door-nob, her curiosity piked as she began to search for the sound's origin. Gradually, the sound began to increase in volume, Drawing her search beyond the cover of trees past her driveway.

A soft glow began to illuminate the road that led to her property, dispelling the shadows cast by the setting sun.

Maddie quickly deduced that the sounds and lights were from an approaching vehicle, but she had no idea who could be coming to see her at this hour?

While she wondered this, a pair of headlights emerged from behind a bend in the road, revealing bright high beams that cut through the darkening gloom like a knife through butter.

Maddie squinted her eyes at the bright light, the glare bouncing off the snow impairing her vision. Putting her arm up, she managed to block most of the light to a point where it wasn't blinding. As she waited for those pesky green and red spots to fade from her vision, the vehicle rolled to a stop outside her house- -it's blinding headlights ceasing to exist.

She lowered her arm, now that the lights were gone, she was able to get a clear look at the vehicle and quickly realized who it belonged to. It was a dark blue ford ram, one that had certainly seen better days. Aside from its old model, and the fact that it needed a _serious_ wash, was its body was covered in various little dings, dents, and scratches, it looked like a big cat- -like a tiger or a lion- -had decided to make this truck there personnel scratching post.

The most notable feature, however, was the absolutely _MASSIVE _dent on the truck's front hood, which wasn't there last time she saw it. What on earth could have caused that?

The driver's side door open with a loud metallic creak and out stepped a man several years older than her, clad in puffy black sweater and jeans. His shoes crunched softly in the snow as he closed the door behind him with a slam. He turned to look at her, a casual look on his face as he greeted her.

"Hey, Maddie."

"Hey, Isaac." She replied distractedly, barely paying attention to what he said. She pointed to the truck hood, and more importantly, the large dent adorning it. "What the heck happened, Isaac?" She asked bewildered.

He followed her gaze to the dent. "Oh, that!" He rubbed the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. "I, uh...haha...I have no idea!"

Feeling she must have misheard him, Maddie slowly turned her head to look at him and raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"I have no idea what happened." He repeated clear as day, throwing his hands in the air for emphasis. "It happened the other day after I finished up at work, I came out and there was a huge dent on my truck, I had no idea what had happened. I tried to call my boss and see if she saw anything, as she was the last to leave before me- -but I haven't been able to reach her for some reason." He said scratching his black beard.

Maddie looked back at the truck, the engine was still putting off heat which she saw wafting up before dissipating amongst the cold air. She gestured to the truck. "Pop the hood, I wanna take a look." She commanded.

"Ok, I already checked earlier and nothing seemed to be wrong, _but_, I'm no mechanic expert, so I wanted get your opinion." He told her as he stepped back into the cab and did as told. After a few moments, the hood popped open, allowing Maddie to lift it up and get a look inside.

Just like Isaac said, everything seemed to be pretty much ok, nothing looked broken or out of place, and while it would be wise for him to eventually replace the battery and change the spark plugs- -nothing looked like it had been damaged by whatever caused the dent.

She lowered the hood lid, which earned a nice _click_ as it locked back into place. "Strange." She turned to face Isaac again. "You really have no clue how this happened?"

"_Nope!_" He shook his head while exiting the car. He closed it shut and walked up to stand beside Maddie. "I was going to take it to an auto body repair shop to get it fixed; but as far as what made it, your guess is as good as mine."

Maddie continued to stare at the dent as if looking some more would reveal what happened...but that would do nothing. Oh well, nothing more they could do about it, it would be best to just move on at this point.

She looked at Isaac, who was starring at the dent like she was. "So Isaac." She began catching his attention.

"Hmm?"

She gestured to the house. "Do you wanna come inside, I doubt you'd wanna stand out here in the cold?"

Isaac readily nodded his head."Yeah, that would be great, thanks."

Guiding him up to the porch, she opened the front door and held it for him. Isaac gratefully took her offer, giving her a warm smile before entering her little home. Following him in, she pulled the door shut with a resounding _click_ to indicate that it had latched shut, joining Isaac in the living room.

Despite being a small house, the living room was actually quite spacious, it had plenty of space to move around freely and could accommodate several people at once. A loveseat was positioned against the back wall of the living room, with a flatscreen adorning the wall opposite, and a little glass coffee table sat nestled between the two. And topping it off like a nice little bow was a little ficus plant hanging out in the corner.

Sitting adjacent to the living room was the kitchen, while a hallway to the side led to her bedroom and bathroom.

Isaac found a spot on the love seat, his body sinking into the soft fabric as his right hand wandered over to inspect the ficus.

She had known him since high school when they met, she had been coming out of math class when she collided with an older student who had been passing in front of the door. she mistook him for a teacher or a faculty member at first because of his age, but she soon found out that he had been held back several times in third grade, and once again in fifth grade. After that, the student asked her to join him for lunch and offered to pay for her food as an apology, to which she accepted. Following that day they started hanging out together, having fun, and enjoying each other's company, eventually forming a friendship that would last a lifetime.

Walking into the kitchen, Maddie opened up the fridge and grabbed a box of leftover pizza, as well as a couple of cans of rootbeer. She flipped open the cardboard box and laid eyes on four slices of pepperoni pizza, the pleasant aroma they put off drifted up to her nose and made her mouth water. Grabbing a ceramic plate from the cupboard, she slid the pizza slices on and threw the plate into the microwave for one minute.

After that, she grabbed a can of rootbeer in both hands, the metal surfaces nice and cold and dripping with condensation. Exiting the kitchen, she went to the living room where Isaac sat on the loveseat.

"Here." She said, handing one of the cans to Isaac.

Reaching out, he wordlessly accepted the can. He pulled back on the tab, releasing that satisfying hiss of escaping carbonation. He brought the can to his lips and took a nice long swig, earning that signature slurping sound. Pulling the can away, he took a satisfying sigh, drops of rootbeer still clinging to his beard. "AHH! Now _that's_ good, nice and cold!"

Maddie pulled the tab on her own can, putting it up to her mouth and taking a drink. "Yeah, there's something about a nice can of ice-cold soda that you just can't beat." She paused. "Well, except for maybe a slice of hot pizza." She considered, gesturing to the microwave.

Isaac sat up, his interest piked. "There's pizza? Great!"

Maddie maneuvered back around the coffee table and returned to the kitchen. "So, hows that restaurant of yours coming?" She called over to Isaac as she set her can on the counter, her attention not on him, but on the microwave- -twenty-three seconds to go.

Isaac groaned from his spot on the couch. "It's coming really slowly! I keep trying to save up for it, but life keeps getting in the way and making things difficult! I try to put money away for my restaurant, but my job doesn't pay quite enough, between paying for things like gas and electricity, and other necessities like food and toilet paper, I'm usually only left with about a hundred dollars to put towards my restaurant! At this rate, it'll take me _years_ to realize my dream!" He moped

Uh oh, did she just sour the mood? Maddie took a glance at Isaac, he had slumped back into the couch, his arm swung across the back of it, she couldn't see his face from this angle, but it probably had a frown on it.

Yeah, she soured the mood. She had to fix this.

The timer on the microwave went off at that moment, emitting an incessant beeping noise that signaled that it was done.

And what better to do so than with pizza?

Pulling open the microwave door, she was blasted with a wave of heat that washed over her face and nipped at her skin. Reaching in, she wrapped her hands around the plate...before immediately reeling back from the searing hot pain; her hands felt like they were on fire, the pain receptors in her hands at full alert. She quickly blew on the affected areas of her skin before swinging her hands through the air like they were one of those balloon men at car dealerships- -all in an effort to mitigate the pain.

Finally, she ventured over to the sink and turned the faucet on to it's coldest; she thrust her hands into the freezing water, sighing in relief as the ice-cold liquid bit at her skin and reduced the pain. After a few more seconds of enjoying the nice cool water, she turned the tap off, letting it's flow come to a halt. Wringing her hands out, she began to shake the excess water off, letting the tiny, crystal clear droplets of H2O, fall to the sink drain below like drops of rain.

"OW!" Maddie gritted, more from annoyance than from pain. She had been distracted by Isaac, so she had neglected to consider that the plate would be scorching hot.

"You ok?" Isaac called out, a touch of concern to his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Maddie waved him off. "I touched the plate while it was still hot, it hurt for a second but the pain is gone now. In order to avoid a repeat of before, she grabbed an oven mitt from the counter and went to get the plate once more. The mitt protected her skin from the hot ceramic plate; while he could still feel the heat through the mitt, it was not enough to burn.

She placed the plate on the hard wooded counter, the pizza resting atop wafting off steam and dripping with grease. Grabbing two, fresh, clean plates from the cupboard, she placed two slices of pizza on both before putting the ceramic plate in the sink.

Taking hold of both plates, she walked them over to the living room, handing one to Isaac and setting hers on the coffee table so she could go back for her soda.

Plopping down on the couch next to Isaac, she grabbed a little black remote of the coffee table and pointed it towards the tv, which lit up with color. She flipped through the various channels provided to her by her satellite providers, from fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled sports games; to relaxing, peaceful, and oftentimes terrifying nature documentaries.

As she searched, she paused on a local news channel, where the media was still obsessing over the recent emergence of the dragons three months ago. Maddie didn't have the same attitude towards the dragons as some other people did, everyone was content to obsess over them, but she wasn't freaking out like everyone else; it wasn't that she hated the dragons, far from it- - she actually thought they were kind of cool- - she just didn't feel the need to spend all her time fawning over them, when she had more important things to do- -like work or fixing up her dads bike. As she was about to change the channel, Isaac piped up, his eyes glued to the TV screen.

"You know." He began after taking a bite out of his pizza and pointing to the screen. "When I was on my way to work the other day, I saw something kinda...odd?"

"What'd you see?" She asked, mildly intrigued.

"So, I saw a dragon ordering from a food truck on my way to work." He began to recount his tale. "It was getting all chummy with the woman behind the counter; they both seemed happy and smiling, but when the dragon,_ left_, _however_, it did a complete one-eighty. "Its expression went from that of a smile to a scowl, a look of utter hate!"

Maddie cocked her head slightly to the left. "It did _what_?" She asked, her voice dripping with confusion.

"It took on a scowl when it stopped talking to the woman." He repeated. "Just like _THAT!" _He snapped his fingers for emphasis, creating a loud ringing sound that bit at her ear.

His further elaboration of the subject did little to subdue her curiosity."W-why, why would it do that?" She half-shouted, wanting an answer.

Isaac simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I asked myself the exact same thing. If I had had my phone out, I could have recorded it and shown you."

It was a mystery why the dragon he was talking about did what he did, and unfortunately, it would stay that way, for they had no explanation and they would probably never get one.

Setting the remote down- -as Isaac seemed content with watching what was on the news for now- - she picked up a slice of pizza and guided the pointy end into her mouth and bit down. It was nice and hot, warm, gooey cheese melted on her tongue, the mildly spicy taste of pepperoni assaulting her taste buds. After chewing a good few times, she swallowed the bite of pizza, before washing it down with a big drink of soda.

She was about to go in for another bite when something spoken earlier hit her like a freight train.

_A recording? _

She immediately sat up, her movements lighting fast as a thought began to form in her head. Facing her friend, she took her hand and placed it on his shoulder, before beginning to shake it vigorously, getting his attention. "Isaac! Isaac!"

"Maddie! What is it!" He asked alarmed, grabbing hold of her hand and wrenching it off his shoulder.

She locked eyes with him, it was clear he had no idea what was going on and wanted clarification badly.

"You once said that you sometimes forget to turn off your dashcam, right?" She asked hopefully.

Isaac's confusion only increased exponentially. "Wa-my, my dashcam? Y-yeah I accidentally leave it on some times, why?"

Maddie's mouth turned upwards into a hopeful grin. "Tell me, Isaac, did you leave your dashcam running the night the hood of your truck got dented in?"

His eyes lit up in realization, quickly catching on to what she was getting at. "Uh, maybe, it's _entirely_ possible that I left it on."

Without another word, Maddie smiled and bolted up from the couch, leaving her food behind and ran to the door. Exiting the house, she rushed over to Isaac's truck and pulled open the driverside door. The cab had a faint pine smell to it, reminiscent of the forest. Getting in, she climbed up over the driver seat and reached for the dashcam; after a moment of struggling, she managed to detach it from its base and pull it out.

Backing out, she slammed the truck door shut and backtracked her steps to the porch. She found Isaac waiting by the door for her to return, once inside, he closed it behind her, seeling out the freezing cold.

"Got it," Maddie said holding up the dashcam for him to see.

Isaac looked at it with excitement, eager about the possibility of what wrecked his truck; and then that excitement faded, only to be replaced by despair. "Wait, the screen on that is pretty small, will it be big enough for us both to see clearly?"

Ugh, he had a point, they would have to view it another way for them to both see it. Maddie thought for a moment, racking her brain for a way for them to see what was on the dashcam. After a moment of thinking, she came up with a solution.

"Follow me!" She commanded Isaac, indicating him to stay with her. Turning on the lights, she led him down the short, narrow hallway towards a door at the end. Maddie pushed the door open, creating a creaking sound as the light from the hall filtered in.

She walked into her room, the light from the hall casting ghostly shadows across it. Articles of clothing were strewn about the place, making it look like a tornado had come through here. Maddie looked to all the pieces of clothing, then back to what she had on her person- -she only just now realized that she was still wearing her, oily, dirty work clothes.

Resolving to change later, she walked past the foot of her bed, it's sheets wild and unkempt. She walked up to a dresser sitting to the left of the bed, it's top bare save for a laptop testing upon it. Pulling her computer of the dresser, as well as a USB cable, she retreated back to her bed and sat down on the soft material, she looked to Isaac and patted a spot next to her, wordlessly telling him to sit.

After he took a seat, Maddie opened up the laptop, the glass screen reflecting the light from the open door. While the computer booted up, it's screen flaring to life, she took the cable and used it to connect the dashcam to her laptop.

Once the computer was fully on, she navigated to the homepage and a little icon with a camera popped up, moving the mouse over, she clicked on the icon. after a few moments, a large window opened up, showing several video files.

Maddie turned to Isaac. "Which one?" She asked, indicating to the videos.

He took a close look at the files, trying to discern which one they wanted. "Uh...that one." He told her, pointing to the second to last icon.

Moving the little arrow, she headed for the one Isaac pointed out, clicking on it and pulling up the corresponding video.

"Ok, here we go," Maddie said as the video booted up. Once the image finally appeared, she began to fast forward through the different frames searching for the right moment. Several scenes were just him on the road, driving to and from various locations, in one instance, he drove past a lot with a food truck, it was at the very edge of the frame, but she could just make out the figure of a dragon standing there.

"Hey!" Isaac quickly pipped up, pointing her finger at the dragon. "That's the dragon that I told you about, the one that scolded at the lady!"

Taking note of that, she continued to filter through the video, eventually coming to a point where he reached the place of his work- -and, true to their hopes, he had left it on upon leaving.

Maddie clasped her hands in eagerness. "Ok, this is it, just a little further and we'll find out what happened."

Continuing to fast forward, they watched a timelapse effect as the time in the video slowly changed, from day to twilight; twilight to night.

For the next few moments, they watched the video in bated breath, awaiting the moment the one responsible for vandalizing Isaacs's truck showed themselves. For several tense seconds, they saw nothing, but when it seemed like they would have to wait forever, Isaac spoke up.

"Hey, hey! look, at the door!" He alerted her, pointing to a spot on the screen. Maddie followed his figure to a side door, where it was now seeing some activity. As they watched, they saw the door open wide to allow a redheaded woman in work clothes to pass. Maddie passed the video, focusing on the woman.

"That's my boss, Gwen Collins!" Isaac declared taking the laptop from Maddie, his eyes glued to it. "I haven't been able to contact her since that night, did something happen?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Maddie said, taking the computer back. Unpausing the video, they watched as Isaacs's boss slowly walked away towards her car, the sound of her footfalls in the snow slowly diminishing as she went farther and farther from the field of view.

Shortly after she left, they heard a loud _crash_ somewhere out of frame.

"What was that?" Isaac asked.

"I think we're about to find out," Maddie replied.

After she said that, they heard the voice of Isaac's boss calling out.

_Isaac, is that you? _They heard her call out to the source of the noise. _Isaac are you there? _They both watched and listened intently, waiting patiently to find out what happened next.

Things grew quiet for a few moments after that, with neither party outside the restaurant, making any sound what so ever. The tension within Maddie and Isaac grew exponentially, their nerves racking as they waited for something to happen.

Then, like a hot knife through butter, the terrible silence was broken.

_Excuse me, can I help you?_ His boss called out to an unknown figure.

_Who else is there?_ Maddie wondered to herself.

_Yes, I came here looking for something to eat. _It said in a male voice, it's words sending a chill down Maddy's spine.

_Well, I'm sorry to say this but we closed up, you'll have to come back_ _tomorrow!_

_Oh, that's ok, that's not the food I was looking_ _for_!

_What do you mean? _Isaac's boss asked the other speaker, a twinge of nervousness in her voice.

_What I mean, is that the food I'MM looking for is not in that building! _Wait, What? The thing this other person was saying was sending Maddie multiple red flags, giving her a bad feeling about what was about to happen.

Suddenly, the next thing they heard was the sound of footsteps coming back this way; only they weren't walking normally, they were coming down hard and fast, quickly approaching as if something was chasing them.

Gwen came back into view, she seemed to be distressed and scared, running back to the safety of the restaurant.

But heavy footfall echoing close behind her quickly closed in, something swiped at her legs as she ran, causing her to crash on the ground in front of Isaac's truck.

Now, both he and Maddie were on the edge of their seats, anxiously watching the footage as this obviously scared woman struggled to getaway.

As the woman scrambled to get away, her attacker set upon her, pinning her down with razor-sharp claws and a sinister grin adorning its muzzle.

It was a dragon!

Maddie could barely believe what she was seeing, a quick glance at Isaac showed he couldn't either, his boss was being attacked by a dragon, _a dragon! _She thought they supposed to be allies to humanity, so why was this one attacking a defenseless woman?

_pl-please, don't do t-this! _She cried out, steaming tears leaking from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. She turned her head in the direction of the restaurant, her eyes seeming locked on something inside._ ISAAC! ISAAC HELP! _The woman screamed out, desperation clinging to her voice.

When nothing came, the woman turned her head at the dragon, pure terror on her face as it shot it's head down and...

...Maddie quickly cupped her mouth and her breath hitched as she and Isaac watched in horror as the sand colors dragon began to viciously tear the woman apart, taking chunks of bloody flesh in its mouth before swallowing.

Maddie's heart beat wildly in her chest, pounding against her insides and threatening to burst from her chest. She could barely breathe, she looked at Isaac, his face was deathly pale, an obvious sign he was experiencing the same emotions she was.

They wanted to turn away, to save themselves from the horrors on screen but they had wanted to know what happened, so they had to bear through it.

Once the woman's now bloody corpse was missing several chunks of flesh, the dragon took her body in its sharp-toothed maw and swallowed her whole, sending the rest of her to churn away in its stomach.

Next, it began to lick up the leftover blood, likely in an attempt to get rid of the evidence that it had just murdered and eaten a human being. But it didn't do too good a job, because as soon as it turned to leave, one of its feet slipped in a puddle of blood, causing to crash down and hit its head on Isaac's truck, explaining the dent in the hood.

That was the last that they saw, however, because as soon as it was over, Maddie slammed the lid of the laptop down so hard that it was very possible that she had just broken it.

She wordlessly set the computer down, her muscles tense and stiff, struggling to relax after what she just saw.

Isaac slowly mustered the courage to speak, the ordeal that they just witnessed having left a number on him. "Did it-did it just?" He attempted to speak, but he struggled to get the words out, his voice trembling every time he tried to speak.

"It just ate your boss!" She finished for him, the words almost as hard to get out as they had been for him.

"W-what do we do?" He managed to say.

Maddie gulped, the unsettled feeling in her stomach refusing to go away. She glanced down at the dashcam that held that horrifying video, she wanted to get rid of it, to delete the video and try and forget that this happened. But they couldn't, there was a dragon out there, maybe more, that were committing crimes, it had killed a woman, and for all they knew, the dragon could have claimed other victims, and they had the only evidence.

"We have to get this to the police!" Maddie said.


	7. Hospital visit

**Finally! I've introduced all the eight main characters, it took more chapters than I thought it would to do so. But I've finally done it.**

* * *

HOSPITAL VISIT

* * *

Vanessa glared at the obstacles that barred her way, her brown eyes burning with intensity and anger, directing her fury at the individual's before her.

"Let me past!" She insisted irritably, once again trying to barge past the burly cheetahs blocking her path. The cheetah on the left gruffly grasped her arm, the pointy claws on the end of its fingers digging into her skin. With a tight squeeze om her forearm, it roughly shoved her back, causing her to stumble backward and nearly lose her footing on the smooth tile.

She quickly composed her self, regaining her balance and standing up straight, before refocusing her gaze on the two bothersome cheetahs. Without taking her eyes off them, she raised her opposite hand and inspected the spot where the cheetah had grabbed her arm. She winced slightly upon contact, it felt sore to the touch, a dull throbbing pain courtesy of the cheetah's tight grip. If she were to roll up her jacket sleeve, she would probably find that her skin had been turned a light shade of red, claw marks covering the affected area like polka dots.

Vanessa kept her eyes trained on the pair in front of her, they stood guard on either side of the doorway, their stone-cold eyes tracking anyone who strayed too close to their boundaries. They were unwavering, unflinching, the muscles under their fur laden skin tensed and ready to fight if need be. They never moved an inch, their feet rooted to the ground defending their post, like a pair of unmoving stone sentinels guarding an ancient tomb.

She tried to peer past the hulking masses of the two cheetah's at the room beyond, barely making out the form of a man lying in a hospital bed surround by all kinds of medical equipment, before one of the nameless cats blocked her view.

It glared at her warningly, silently telling her that if she didn't back off things would get ugly.

But she wasn't going to be beaten so easily.

Not willing to give up just yet, she straightened out her jacket and tidied up her hair in an effort to look as professional as possible. "Ok, look, you're just doing your job I get that, but I was sent by the CIA because they want to confirm that MR. Richardson is no longer a threat." She said, flashing them the most realistic play badge she could buy.

She prayed to God that they were buying this garbage.

The cheetah on the left folded his arms and leaned in close, inspecting Vanessa with a critical eye. It toward roughly a foot over her, it's imposing stature giving her a moment of pause.

As it closely inspected her, she was able to pick up the musky smell wafting of its fur coat; a pungent, foul, zoo-like odor that bit at her nostrils much in the way bleach would. She held back her disgust and bit her tongue, figuring that it would not be wise to let the mountain of a cat-man in front of her know that she thought he smelled.

The cheetah frowned and arched his brow, his face alight with suspicion. "You seem a bit young to be working for a place like that?" He growled out, his voice coarse and gritty, like Bruce Wayne after donning his batman costume. "How old are you?"

"The minimum age to join the CIA is eighteen; I'm nineteen! Old enough to be a member!" She shot back, her hands placed annoyedly at her sides.

After her short, mild outburst, the cheetah seemed to back off, albeit still having a skeptical look plastered over its face.

With the cheetah now subdued, its partner turned to face Vanessa with the same amount of toughness as the other, but with much less intensity. "What is your name?" It asked calmly, no sense of emotion in its voice.

"Abigail Jones." She told him, not dumb enough to give her real name- -if she did they would be on her in an instant.

"Well, Miss Abigail." He began in almost an apologetic manner. "I'm sorry, but our orders are to not let _anyone_ pass, for_ any_ reason; Its what the higher-ups told us, outside contact with MR. Richardson is strictly prohibited, no one is to speak with him!"

"Yes, but he's one of _our_ people, we should have a right to speak with him!" She argued back, trying to get them to see reason.

The cheetah remained as stoic and unbudging as ever, his decision on the matter unchanging as he absolutely _refused_ to let Vanessa past them.

"He may be one of your people miss Abigail, but he also managed to slip into our world and steal a highly dangerous device- - one that he's seemingly stashed somewhere. This is an incredibly serious situation, one that requires to be treated with the utmost care and delicacy. Now the dragons in charge are being incredibly strict about who speaks to him. Anybody except them is to be turned away, _no_ exceptions!" He firmly stated, folding his arms.

The cheetah gave her a long look over, seeing her disappointed and frustrated expression, before letting a contemplative look flash across his face. "look." He began, a twinge of sympathy creeping into his voice. "The only way you will be able to speak with MR. Richardson is if you have your superiors speak with the dragons to try and come to an agreement. But..." He faltered, hesitancy taking over his voice, while his facial expressions became unsure, questioning if he should continue or not.

"But what?" Vannessa urged, anxiously waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"But...do not get your hopes up, the odds that the dragons will grant you access is unlikely; this is a very serious matter, the object he stole was highly sensitive and they are cautious about letting anyone outside their ranks speak with him, they are just trying to protect their security. And if that means having no one aside from them talk with him...then so be it.

_Yeah..._that's_ the reason._ She thought skeptically. _'trying to protect their security' I think we both know that that is not the reason why no-one can speak with him! _

The cheetah went back to his stern attitude from before, once again casting cold, emotionless eyes down on Vanessa. "Well, if that will be all, I recommend that you head on your way before things get uncomfortable and we are required to use force." He said in the most polite threat she had ever heard.

She clutched her fists in frustration, almost to the point of turning her knuckles white. She wanted to scream, to shout in outrage and hurl profanities at these two cheetahs for keeping her from going past. She _had_ to speak with Anthony Richardson, and she wasn't going to let these two fur-covered bastards keep her from him.

She didn't care if she had to fight them tooth and nail, she _was _going to see him.

Reluctantly, she turned away from the cheetahs and pulled out into the main hall. She had to find another way to get in that room, but how?

The hospital she was in was just like any other, clean white walls and tiled floors sparkled under soft fluorescent lights, casting the place in a warm glow. Rooms for the hospital's current residents were spaced every few feet along the walls, their curtains pulled closed indicating they were being used. The staff and visitors could be seen walking the halls, either here to visit loved ones or to tend to the patients within these walls.

Not to mention the presence of that distinct hospital smell, which clung to her nose and refused to go away.

At the end of the hall she was in, sat a large, round receptionist counter which resided at a four-way intersection, meaning it saw a lot of traffic. It was from there that she got directions to where MR. Richardson was being held...not that it helped too much; maybe they could help her again?

She made her way down the hall and approached the counter, behind its solid polished wood surface- -which was littered with clipboards and papers of various documentation- -sat a lean, pale-skinned man who looked like he could use a sandwich and some more sun.

He wore a pristine lab coat, the little stitches, and seems in perfect condition like it just came off the production line. He had a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, helping him see as he clacked away on a keyboard, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him. She made her way toward the counter, the sound of her rubber-soled shoes squeaking loudly on the hard tile. Vanessa knocked her knuckles painfully on the wood, earning the man's attention and making him look away from the bright screen.

"Oh, hello there again, did you find what you were looking for?" He asked her helpfully.

Vanessa folded her arms in defeat. "Yeah. Yeah, I did!" She admitted annoyingly, sending a bitter glance back at where the two cheetahs could be seen.

"They didn't let you in did they!" He stated more than asked as he leveled his eyes at her.

"No, they did not." She sighed out.

The man in the lab-coat rolled his eyes in mock surprise and let out a chuckle. "Ha. Yeah, they don't let anyone through, no matter what! The only ones that they have ever let near him are their own people." He paused for a second, bringing up his hand he began to scratch his chin in thought, a contemplative look crossing his face.

"Although...I have seen them allow some doctors through to check up on him...but I guess that makes sense that doctors would be an exception, seeing as this _is_ a hospital and all." He said, shrugging it off like it was nothing.

_So doctors are allowed in...that's good to know! _Vanessa thought slyly.

"Well, thanks for the help, but it's time I get going, need to get this report to my officials." She said, preparing to back away from the counter.

The nameless man gave a curt nod of his head. "The life of a CIA agent is never slow is it?" He asked casually, his hands resting relaxingly on the counter.

Vanessa paused to regard the man. Without turning her head, she replied to the man from over her shoulder, an evasive tone in her words. "Uhhh, suuure. Let's go with that." She said drawing out her words.

"Sorry I wasn't able to help more!" The man called out again.

"That's alright." She replied in kind.

_Besides, you may have helped more than you realize. _

.

After her talk with the man at the receptionist counter, she took the information she gleaned from their little chat and aimed to put it to good use. After going on a little hunt, she came across a supply room where they kept equipment and other medical necessities that helped the entire floor she was on function at full capacity.

After confirming that the door was locked, she stayed close by, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

After a few moments of hovering just beyond the door, her chance seemed insight when the doorknob began to jiggle from the other side. The door creaked open, shafts of fluorescent light filtering through the gap as a woman in a pair of purple scrubs came walking out.

Vanessa pressed herself against the wall, reducing her size in an effort not to be spotted. She watched as the woman came out of the room, her attention focused straight ahead and not on where Vanessa was, before turning off down the hall away from them and letting the door close itself behind her.

Moving quickly, Vanessa thrust her arm forward and stuck it in the path of the closing door, preventing it from shutting and allowing her entry into the room.

Slipping into the supply room, she quietly closed the door behind her, earning a soft metallic click as the heavy door slid shut.

She now stood in a medium-sized room, walls lined with shelves with boxes filled with all kinds of medical supplies, from saline to gauze to cotton balls and other various items. Small waist-high shelves were placed randomly around the center of the room, each one containing more supplies. The soft fluorescent lights above shone down on the room, casting very faint shadows almost too hard to see where objects blocked its path.

Vannessa let go of the door handle and started to proceed deeper into the room, navigating between the little aisle's and making sure not to disturb anything. She began to search the shelves and containers for what it was she needed, going through their contents and opening up drawers hoping to find what she needed to fool the cheetahs.

She wound up finding a wide assortment of stuff, such as saline bags, hospital gowns for patients, syringes, and needles for shots, and bandages. In one instance, she even found a big drawer full of unused bedpans, just sitting around waiting to be used- - she really hoped that she was never in a position where she needed one, a regular toilet is fine thanks.

She kept on searching for a little while but had still not managed to find what she required to pull her plan off. She couldn't take too much longer in here, lest she risks being found out by the next employe who came in here- - so she had to find this thing fast.

Opening up every drawer and cabinet, she prayed desperately that what she needed was here, as she was nearly running out of places to check. Soon, Vanessa came upon the last drawer, reaching her hand out, she wrapped her fingers around the cold metal handle and pulled.

The drawer made a low-pitched squeaking sound as it was pulled outwards, it's little plastic wheels gliding smoothly across the metal tracks.

She checked inside at its contents and sighed in relief, releasing her breath that she had not realized she had been holding. Inside the drawer were multiple sets of scrubs, all of them fresh and in mint condition in unopened packaging. She stuck her hand in among all the packages of differently colored scrubs and began to rummage through them, looking for one in her size.

She had to check virtually _all_ of the packages before she found one that would fit her, it was at the back of the drawer, buried under piles of other scrubs. Griping the plastic wrapping firmly in her hands, she pulled it free from under all the others, creating a crinkling sound as it was dragged against all the others.

With the scrubs in hand, she closed the drawer back up, the wooden backboard slamming into place.

She looked down at the hospital wear currently resting in her palms, it was a shade of mint green, a set of garments that would hopefully get her past those cheetahs.

Stuffing the set of scrubs under her jacket, she turned away from the drawer and made her way back to the front of the room. Vanessa tentatively opened the door and peeked out the crack, checking for any employees before she made her way out. Closing the door behind her, she set to try and find a quiet place to change into these scrubs.

After a couple of minutes wandering the halls, she happened across a vacant restroom which would be able to suit her needs.

Upon entry, the motion-activated lights came to life, casting the room in light. Locking the deadbolt behind her, she took a quick look at the small restroom she was in, due to this being a hospital, it looked a lot cleaner- -and smelled better- - than one that could be found at, say, a gas station. Shiny red and blue tiles covered the floor and ran halfway up the wall, coming to a halt where long metal bars stuck out of all the bare walls.

At the far end of the restroom was a porcelain toilet, sitting across from where a matching sink was affixed to the wall, pipes leading out from under it and into the area behind.

Vanessa pulled the bag of scrubs out from her jacket and tore the seal on the packaging. She pulled the garments out of the plastic bag and tossed it onto the toilet seat for now. The green scrubs were soft to the touch and seemed like they would breathe really well. She brought them up to her nose and inhaled their scent, they smelled nice and fresh, an effect from just coming out of the packaging.

She began to slip the scrubs on over what she was currently wearing, starting with the pants and then the shirt. Parts of what she was wearing underneath were able to show through in some places, so she was required to adjust her scrubs a bit to make sure they weren't spotted.

With that done, she moved onto the cap. she shoved all of her hair back behind her ears before beginning to fit the cap over the top of her head, molding it around her skull till it was in place. Taking fistfuls of her midlength black hair, she started fitting it all up in the cap, causing it to stretch out a bit like all the hair bunched up in the back, kind of like a hairnet worn by a lunch lady who had long hair.

She tossed the mask aside with the plastic bag, as she had no need for it.

Walking over to the mirror hanging above the sink, she looked at her reflection in it, inspection how she looked in these scrubs.

She checked how she looked from her front, her sides, and her back, and aside from the fact that the clothes she wore underneath puffed up the scrubs a bit, almost making her look like a green marshmallow, she appeared as if she actually belonged here.

Vanessa looked over her appearance for a few more moments before deciding that what she had would do. Gathering up the mask and bag so she could throw them away, she was about to open the door when her eyes fell on a bottle of air freshener, resting on the sink that she hadn't noticed before.

Her hand hovered over the door handle in anticipation to open it, but she found herself frozen as she stared at the can of aerosol. She paused in thought, would the Cheetahs be able to recognize her scent? She hadn't thought about that, the fact that they might be able to sniff her out was a very real possibility, one that she didn't take into consideration.

It would make sense, after all, while she had no idea if they were exactly the same, Cheetahs on earth are predatory animals, and as such their sense of smell has extremely acute in order to track and take down prey. And so if their dragon world counterparts are anything alike, their sense of smell has to be just as strong.

Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, she set the two items down in the sink and took hold of the can. Removing the cap with an audible _pop_, she closed her eyes and shut her mouth, before turning the nozzle on herself and starting to spray.

The aerosol smelled strongly of citrus, bathing her in its fresh orangey scent as the spray soaked into her clothes. She applied layer after layer, not stopping until she was sure that she wouldn't be found out. She used it on her arms, her legs, and every part of her body, making sure to get every last inch of herself to ensure that her scent was completely masked.

Setting the can down, she began to inspect her handy work. Bringing her arm up to her nose, she smelled the fabric that hugged her skin. The sharpness of the citrus smell caused her to reel back a bit, it was intense, biting at her nostrils and burning them like bleach-she might have overdone it a bit.

Vanessa scrunched her nose, the scent proving too powerful for her as she tried to avoid breathing it in-but thanks to the fact that it now clung to her relentlessly, that was going to be hard.

She had definitely overdone it! However, on the bright side, if it was this intense for her, then on the cheetahs it was sure to be agony.

Collecting the mask and bag once more, she headed back over to the door and turned the handle, pulling it open with a creak and exiting her makeshift changing room. She veered out into the hallway, redirecting her self back towards where her objective was. And occasionally drawing curious glances from people who came close enough to be able to smell the strong scent of citrus.

She made her back to the receptionist counter, where the man on duty still sat working, his eyes glued to the computer screen, just like before. She eyed him  
precariously as she approached, cautiously waiting to see if he would notice her.

He sat there still, attention never wavering even as she came near, not once looking away from the computer- as long as she didn't alert him, it seemed that she was safe.

When it looked like she was in the clear, she carefully circled her way around the counter until she was facing the men back, making sure that he was unaware of her presence. Taking a quick glance around the area to make sure that there was no-one around to see her, she delicately snaked her arm over the counter and took hold of a clipboard and pen, being careful to not make any noise.

She slid the clipboard across the counter in her direction, eyeing the man as she did so. Once it was close enough, she wormed her fingers under the board and took it firmly in her hand, lifting it up and pulling it over the counter.

With the clipboard in her possession, she left the receptionist counter and started back down the hall. As she walked, she could clearly see her destination from where she was at. The two cheetahs stood there imposingly, standing tall and firm in front of the room where MR. Richardson was being held. Last time she tried this, she wasn't able to get past, would this time be any different now that she had a disguise?

She stepped up to greet the two cheetahs once more, their stern, steely-eyed gaze boring their way into her soul. Vanessa's heartbeat nervously in her chest, while an anxious knot started to grow in her stomach, but she kept a level head and did her best to hide it, putting on a confident face and keeping her breathing steady.

"I need to get in to run some check-ups."She told the two in an affected voice so they didn't recognize it; while also pretending to be reading what was on the clipboard, keeping her head at a downward angle so the cheetahs couldn't get a clear look at her face.

While she couldn't see their faces very well due to her position, what she could see through the edge of her vision wasn't encouraging. It seemed like they were skeptical of what she was telling them. Narrowing their eyes at her, they watched Vanessa closely, never taking their gaze off her. A gruff and threatening air wafting off them, like they could pounce on her at any moment... At least, that's what she thought she could see, again her position wasn't the greatest.

Also, the fact that they weren't saying anything didn't help either.

"Who are you, I haven't seen you around here before!" The cheetah on the left asked her suspiciously, folding his arms.

"Well, I'm obviously a nurse!" Vanessa said bluntly, gesturing to her outfit without taking her eyes off the clipboard. "And the reason you haven't seen me is that I've been on leave for the past several days, and as soon as I got back, they assigned me here." She said, thinking on the fly.

Vanessa prayed that they were believing what she was telling them, she had to get in that room, and she wouldn't be able to do that if she was found out by these two; the last thing she wanted was to get caught and have all of this be for nothing.

However, on a positive note, due to the fact that they hadn't yet called her out on her scent, and that their noses and face were scrunching up in disgust, it was clear that the air freshener she sprayed herself with was doing an effective job at helping mask her scent.

The cheetahs still seemed skeptical about this whole thing, so far not budgeting an inch for her despite what she told them. "I don't think-" The cheetah on the left started, but was quickly cut off by Vanessa.

"Look!" Vanessa began suddenly. "I know you're just doing you're jobs, but I have to do _my_ job, and that is checking up on MR. Richardson and making sure he's healthy! Something that your dragon bosses are very keen on making sure he stays! So unless you want to hear from them about why he didn't get his regular check-up, I suggest you let me past so I can do my job!" She berated them, annoyance creeping into her voice and using the prospect of ticking off their higher-ups as a threat.

Vanessa watched as the cheetahs gave each other silent looks, wordlessly conveying messages between themselves as they decided what to do about her. She did her best to keep herself calm and to not blow her cover, but that was easier said than done. She had no idea if she would be able to fool them into letting her past.

Her muscles were tense with anticipation, every second that passed by was agony on her, threatening to tear her apart. She anxiously drummed her fingers on the underside of the clipboard, the deafening silence and the wordless gaze from the cats causing her heart to beat on edge. She waited as the two cheetahs stood there quietly, her breathing shallow as she nervously awaited their response.

After a few antagonizing moments, the cheetahs finally seemed like they had come to an agreement. They turned to face her, that same stern look still plastered on both of their faces. Whatever they said would decide the outcome of this day.

Vanessa's breath hitched as the cheetah on the right opened his mouth to speak.

"You may enter." He said as he and his buddy moved out of the way, allowing her to pass.

Vanessa released a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding, a large feeling of stress lifting off her shoulders and heart at hearing those words. She mentally gave a sigh of relief, the worries that had been plaguing her for the past for moments melting away.

"Thank you!" She spoke to them in an exasperated voice, brushing past them as she finally made her way into the hospital room.

As she passed by them, the cheetah on the left scrunched up his nose once more, the strong smell of oranges assaulting him. "You may want to lay off a bit on the perfume!" He not so subtly hinted.

Vannessa paid him no mind, however, with her only concern being right in front of her.

Entering the room, she slid the glass door closed behind her and pulled the curtain out in order to prevent the cheetahs -and anyone else for that matter- from looking in on her.

The room was cast in shadow, with only a soft glow emitting from the window, from which rays of light from the sun filtered in through the curtain, giving the space a calming feel. It was also soothingly quiet, virtually no sounds resided here, making peaceful and perfect for its resting occupant.

Through the dim gloom, she was able to make out the forms of various pieces of equipment and furniture, from chairs and a foldout couch that turned into a spare bed, to counters and cupboards that held all kinds of medical necessities. And for the main centerpiece, sat a standard hospital bed, complete safeguards on all sides and wheels for easy transportation.

As well as the beds current resident, MR. Richardson.

Setting the clipboard down on one of the nearby counters, she slowly made her way over to where the man rested. Vanessa felt pitty and remorse when looking on at him, he was in bad shape, his left hand had been severed, and his body was practically torn to ribbons, resulting in hundreds of cuts, scrapes, and gashes both fresh and old that had been bandaged up and treated so they could heal.

But that was only part of it.

He had also been hooked up to several machines such as a heart monitor, and a blood regulator, as well as having been plugged up with several tubes that pumped saline and other things meant to keep him alive into his body-he looked as if he was being experimented on like he was some kind of Frankenstein's monster.

Seeing MR. Richardson like this, Vanessa's spirt fell and her heart went out to him, showing sympathy for his current plight. It hurt her to see him like this.

Approaching the bed, she pulled up a chair and sat down across from him. Reaching up, she took hold of the cap atop her head and ripped it off, allowing her hair to fall free. She held the cap up to her chest, a solemn feeling overcoming her. Vanessa looked up at MR. Richardson, her eyes starting to water as tears formed in her eyes, ebbing at the edge of her vision.

"Hey, dad" She choked out. "I've missed you."

His slightly darker skin was riddled with scars- some faint, while others were easily visible- there was a particularly large one that ran up the length of his whole right arm, a ghastly white vain that unnaturally carved a path across his skin-she shuddered to imagine what had caused it.

She took his hand in her own and held it tightly as if it would be the last chance she ever got to do so. She rubbed her thumb over the now dry and cracked texture of his skin, a pain striking her heart as she looked at him in this state.

"It's me, Vanessa, your daughter." She spoke softly. "A lot has happened since you went missing; the world's changed drastically in such a short time. A presence has made itself known...dragons... have made themselves known. They claim that they've been trying to contact us for years and that they seek to be friends with us." Vanessa gave a shallow chuckle upon mentioning it, giving a small shake of her head.

"It's a nice notion, and the world seems to agree because they're all up for it, accepting the dragons with open arms. But after that warning you gave me the day you disappeared, I've had trouble doing the same-I'm not entirely sure if they can be trusted or not.

She sniffled, using the scrubs sleeve to wipe away the snot that was beginning to run from her nose, tears leaking from her eyes. "But don't worry, I did as you told me and went into hiding. I've been laying low for a while, avoiding attention, and staying quiet- I haven't been caught yet." For a second, the corners of her mouth turned upwards into a weak smile, before being forced back down. "You don't need to worried about me, I'm safe!"

She stayed quiet for a few minutes after that, not speaking a single word, or making the faintest peep. Their chests calmly rose and fell as they breathed in and out. Various machines worked almost silently in the background, letting off short and sharp beeps as they monitored her father's vitals.

When she couldn't be quiet any longer, Vanessa sighed in despair, pulling back her hands and placing her face in them. "Why did this have to happen? _What_ happened?" She choked out in sobs, her voice muffled by her hands.

She started to quietly cry to herself, tears flowing from her eyes and soaking into her skin, her muffled cries echoing faintly around the room. "This isn't fair!" She muttered out, her voice cracking apart. "Why couldn't have this been avoided; why couldn't you have just stayed with me?" Vanessa asked no one between sobs.

As she unmovingly sat there, cries, tears, and a feeling of despair wafting off of her, she found it as a surprise when she heard a weak voice utter her name.

"V-Vanessa?" The voice asked unsure, disbelief making itself know.

Slowly, upon hearing her name, Vanessa removed her head from her palms and looked up, her eyes glossy and red from her tears. She looked up at her father in disbelief, not daring to believe what she was seeing. Where her father was previously resting in a comatose state, not moving, or making any activity of any kind; he was now slowly and lethargically opening up his eyes, setting his brown pupils to gaze down on her hopefully.

"Vanessa? My little girl, is that you?" He shakily lifted his hand and reached out to touch her, his muscles quivering as they struggled to carry out the action. He softly pressed his hand against her face, cupping her cheek in his palm as he cooed on at her.

Tearfully, Vanessa brought her own hand up and placed it over her fathers, a soft smile touching her lips as joyous sobs escaped her. "yes, yeah it's me, dad. Its Vanessa." She gladly answered his question, a warm and happy feeling overcoming her.

"I've missed you a lot!" She told him as she contentedly held his hand, not wanting this experience to go away.

Anthony smiled back at her, his eyes locking softly on to her as he reflected all the emotions visible on her face. "I've missed you too!" He started in that weak voice of his. "For the longest time, hoping for a chance to see you again was one of the only things that kept me going. I love you, Vanessa."

"I love you too dad."

They sat there peacefully after that exchange of words, both of them enjoying each other's company, happy to have them back in their lives. Vanessa was happy, her father was happy, for she had him again; and him her. They could both get lost in this moment, in a timeless paradise where they both finally had the other one again, just the two of them together.

But the moment had to end.

As Vanessa sat there, happily enjoying every second she had with her father, a thought crossed her mind, one that had to be addressed, and one that made her heart fall. She sighed heavily, she didn't want to bring this subject up and ruin the moment they had going here, but it couldn't be ignored.

"Dad." Vanessa began, remorse in her voice. "You need to tell me what went on while you were gone; what happened to you?"

Those four words seemed to cause a shift within her father, bringing up unpleasant memories as he began to slowly shake his head. "Not the time, not the time." He muttered weakly, the lack of energy taking its toll on him. "There's no time! They'll be back soon!"

He looked back to Vanessa, and where she previously saw his eyes full of love and joy to see her, she now saw them full of terror, plain fear visible in his eyes and on his face, something he encountered while he was missing must have really scared him.

"You have to go, Vanessa, it's not safe!" He urged her.

"Why, what's going on?"

Her father sank back into the bed, his movements becoming more lethargic and slow, sleep tugging at him. "There's a girl, I gave it to her. It must be protected."

All these cryptic messages he was giving her were driving her crazy, she had no idea what to make of them. "Dad! What are you talking about!" She pleaded to him desperately, making sure to keep her voice down so she wasn't overheard.

But her pleas fell on deaf ears, for she wasn't able to get any answers out of him, before he succumbed to his wounds, passing out on the spot and leaving her alone once more. She would have to figure out what he was trying to tell her on her own.

However, before he fully slipped into unconsciousness, he spoke three, final words.

"Find the FATED!"

Vanessa sat there, silently taking all this new information in. What just happened? As soon as she asked him where he went, he started spouting all kinds of nonsense that left her with more questions than answers.

And as much as she wanted to stay here with her father, hoping for him to wake up again so he could alleviate her confusion, she knew that it wasn't a good idea to stick around here for too long. Deciding it was best to take her dad's advice, she slipped the cap back on her head and got up from her spot in the chair.

Grabbing the clipboard, she hastily made her back to the front of the room where the cheetah's still stood guard. Opening the door, she walked right past them without any worries, not paying them any mind as she left the two of them in the dust.

Her brain was on overdrive as she tried to process all her father had told her. What did it all mean?

What was the FATED!

And who is this girl he spoke of; and what did he give her?

Vanessa didn't know what he was talking about; or what kind of trouble her father had gotten mixed up in.

But what she did know. Is that she would stop at_ nothing_ to figure it out.

* * *

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	8. Victim zero

VICTIM ZERO

* * *

The sounds of children screaming out in joy, filled the walls of Ricky Pistachio's arcade and pizzeria; their jubilant cries echoing throughout the establishment as they had the time of their lives.

All across the building, beeps and chirps emanated from the many arcade machines that littered the premises, their flashing lights attracting all kinds of people to try and win their spoils - letting out loud victorious fanfares and dispensing large amounts of tickets whenever someone won it big.

Jace navigated the crowded aisles, a piping hot pizza held firmly in his grip as he made his way to a row of tables in the back that was situated next to an indoor play gym. As he passed by people chucking round orbs down skeeball tracks, and customers going to and from the salad bar, his outfit, a light green t-shirt with a cartoon squirrel and a pair of khakis, helped to discern him as an employee of the restaurant, making it easier to go to and fro between locations.

He walked up to a table housing a family of six, comprised of two parents, a teenager, and three rambunctious kids that were driving their mom and dad just about crazy. Upon approaching, all three kids snapped to attention when they saw him walk up with the pizza, with the parents giving an audible sigh of relief for this reprieve.

"Okay." Jace began as he set down the pizza on the family table. "I have one pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni slices; your Hawaiian should be along shortly as well. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Yes, do you have any of those parmesan and pepper packets for us to use?" Asked the mom, who was dressed in a beautiful polka dot blouse.

Jace clasped his hands together in affirmation, giving a curt nod of his head. "I'll see to it that you get some." He replied helpfully.

The mother gave her thanks as Jace took his leave from the family's table.

On his return to the kitchen, Jace stopped at a couple of empty tables on his way, collecting any dirty pizza trays, and any disposable cups, plates, and utensils that he came upon. He piled the articles of trash haphazardly atop the tray, resulting in it becoming a rickety Pyramid that he had to focus on keeping upright.

Approaching a set of trash cans set just before the entrance to the kitchen, Jace took the tray and unceremoniously dumped all the refuse on top into the bin, not missing a single piece.

After getting rid of all the garbage, Jace turned away from the trash can and walked up to a big, black windowed door that led to the kitchen. Pushing on the door ever so slightly, it swung open, allowing him to pass through.

Walking in, he was immediately hit with a blast of delicious scents from all the food being prepped. Such as the pleasant aromas of pizzas in the oven, cheese melty, and pepperoni greasy to no end. Or the chicken and other meats that were basted in various sauces and spices to give it a tasty tang.

The atmosphere around him quickly changed as he made his way into the kitchen. From the cheery, fun-filled environment of the ground floor, to a strict, cut-throat work zone.

Here, everyone's main focus was preparing the food so that it was fit for customer consumption. Whether that was operating the ovens or deep fryers at searing several hundred-degree heats. Assembling all the pizzas, seasoning the chicken wings, making sure the salad bar was fully stocked, and everything in between. Or just simply ensuring that the workplace was clean and up to code. Everybody here all played a role in keeping the kitchen at smooth operation.

Many of his co-workers could be found flittering about the aisles, moving from place to place as they worked to complete various tasks. On the several metal counters in the area, he watched as men and women in fresh, clean aprons chopped up vegetables, kneaded dough, and cooked up vats of sauce, all of which came from the large refrigerator in the back.

Large shelves and racks held all kinds of tools that found frequent use in the establishment, such as pots and pans, cheese graders, and cutting knives, pin rollers, and pizza slicers.

Over in the back, Jace observed the dishwasher that they used to clean the pizza trays, a big, hulking industrial-grade machine with multiple forward facing racks for easy loading. Walking over to the washer, Jace deposited the trays so that they could be washed later.

With that taken care of, he turned to the sink that was situated right next to the dishwasher. Turning on the faucet, he let the water run out the tap so that he could wash his hands after handling all that trash. Pushing down on the nozzle to the supplied bottle of soap, Jace squirted the stuff onto his palm, not stopping until he had a quarter-sized amount in his hands.

Getting his hands wet, he began to lather up with the soap, making sure to thoroughly scrub everywhere he could and ensure that no nasty bacteria still clung to his skin.

Rinsing off his hands, he turned off the water and reached for a paper towel. Ripping it off of the roll and using it to soak up all the excess water.

After that, Jace wandered over to where the pizzas were made to check on the family's Hawaiian. A whole section of the kitchen wall was devoted to a conveyer belt that fed into a large oven that blasted at over six-hundred degrees.

As Jace came up to the large industrial oven, he could begin to feel the mass amounts of heat it put off. It caressed his skin ever so delicately, giving off a pleasant feeling similar to the sun shining down on a warm summer day.

He spotted another employee hovering around the end of the belt; Whenever a freshly baked pizza came out of the oven, she would be ready to take it off the belt and get it ready for cutting. She was dressed up in the same work attire as he was, the only difference is the black apron she had tied around herself. She must have seen him coming because she turned to face him right as he approached, beads of sweat dripping down her dimply brow from being so close to the hot oven.

"Hey, Jace. If you're here for the pizza it's just about done." She said, beating him to the punch before he had a chance to speak.

"Oh, uh...thanks, Jenny." He replied a bit caught off guard.

"No problem!" She shrugged as she kept her eyes on the conveyor belt, watching as the track slowly crept forward. After a moment, a Hawaiian pizza came rolling out of the oven. Its crust was a crisp golden brown and was topped with rich sweet pineapple, and juicy chunks of ham.

Using a pair of oven mitts that she had secured over her hands, she took grabbed the pizza off the conveyor and transported it to a nearby counter where another worker then proceeded to move it to a clean tray and slice it up into equal pieces.

Giving a quick nod of thanks to Jenny and the unnamed worker, Jace gripped his hands around the pizza and carried it back out the way he came. Walking back out onto the main floor, he made his way back to the family's table with their pizza in hand.

He had to swerve around several kids as he headed for the tables, each of them crowding around various arcade machines, gaining high scores, and winning prizes. In one instance, he had to dodge to the right to avoid a collision with a little boy about seven or eight who was running gleefully down the aisle, a big stupid grin on his face as he held a large bunch of tickets to his chest.

Approaching the family, he came to find that several of the pizza slices were already missing, with the three kids happy chomping away at them. The parents saw come up to the table and quickly clear a spot for the Hawaiian. Jace placed the pizza down, wisps of hot white steam wafting off of the Italian delicacy.

"Thank you so much!" The mother commended him, gratitude in her voice.

"Oh, it's nothing." Jace smiled, waving off her praise. "It's just my job, I help people. But...you are welcome non the less."

The woman smiled back at his words, the sign of another satisfied customer.

"Well, on that note I hope you enjoy your food and I will be right back with your pepper and parmesan."

Jace left the family to eat in peace, their pleased and happy faces still fresh in his mind. One of his favorite parts about working here was the people that he helped on a regular basis; he liked that he was able to make a difference in their lives, even if the difference was simply making sure they got their food on time. Jace liked helping people, it made him feel worthwhile; that he was needed and was put on this earth for a reason.

More recently, however, this job of his had taken on another purpose, and that was serving as a much-needed distraction from all the potentially sinister things going on in his hometown. Everywhere he went, he was greeted with the foreboding presence of a dark conspiracy, the faint lingering traces of a struggle everyone says didn't happen. An evil, bubbling and festering right under everyone's noses as it threatened to swallow up Angle Springs, and no-one being the wiser for it.

But, at least here at Ricky's, Jace was able to get away from it for a while. When he was at Ricky's, he was able to clear and relax his mind, temporarily putting all those distressing thoughts out of his head.

Coming back up on the kitchen doors, he was about to push through before he was stopped by his boss, a tall, somewhat skinny man who walked with an air of authority.

"Jace." He spoke, his voice powerful and commanding. "I need someone to help bring out Ricky, You got this?"

"I'm your man sir!"

"Great! Now what I need you to do is to get the attention of all the kids here, walk around the building a bit and make sure they know that Ricky is going to be coming out." He said, explaining the plan to Jace very clearly even though he had done this several times before. "Then once you have a sizable amount of kids bring them over to the stage where we'll bring him out." His boss gestured to a large wooden platform only a few feet from the front door, a big velvet curtain hanging just beyond it.

"You got this handled?" His boss asked.

Jace nodded.

Once it seemed like everything was taken care of, his boss made a move to leave before being stoped by Jace.

"Hang on sir!" Jace started, reaching his hand toward him.

His boss turned back to face him, an inquisitive look on his face. "Yes? what is it, Jace?"

Jace nodded with his head back in the direction of the family he just left. "I was supposed to get the family at table thirty-two some pepper and parmesan." He stated conflictedly, conveying his prior commitment to his superior.

Jace's boss gave a quick nod of affirmation. "Very well, I'll make sure that they get what they requested. But for now, I need you to go find an audience for Ricky, Got it?" He finished with a stern undertone in his voice directed at Jace.

"Yes sir, I'll get right on it." Jace nodded.

"You do that!" His boss gave him a hearty pat on the back as he walked away.

Once his boss had cleared the vicinity, Jace did as he was told and began drumming up attention. Clapping his hands together loudly, he began to shout out as he raised his voice, making sure that everyone near could hear him. "Alright, kids, if you wanna meet Ricky follow me!" He called out as he weaved between tables and video games, steadily attracting kids big and small.

He wandered the premises of Ricky Pistachio's, constantly calling out to let all the kids he came across know that Ricky was coming out. After a few minutes of doing this, he came to find that he had caught quite a crowd, he had a sizable mob of children following in his wake so they could meet Ricky. Jace saw several innocent and energetic little girls and boys behind him, he saw the three kids from the table he had waited, and he had even gotten the attention of the guests from a large birthday party.

After a couple more rounds throughout the main floor, he began to lead the little parade he had formed towards the stage. Jace cleared any loose chairs away and began helping the kids find a spot to sit on the soft carpet. Once they were all seated, Jace walked up onto the stage so he could see them all at the same time.

Jace put his hands together. "Alright kids, you ready to see Ricky?" A chorus of yesses and cheers rose at his words.

"Ok then, repeat after me. WE WANT RICKY! WE WANT RICKY!" He chanted, urging them to join in.

And join in they did. As Jace chanted those three lines, more and more kids began to follow along; lending their voices to a growing symphony that was filling the ground floor of the establishment and catching the attention of on-lookers.

_"WE WANT RICKY! WE WANT RICKY!" WE WANT RICKY!" _They cried in unison.

"Ok, that's great. Now, start clapping your hands together, loudly enough that he can hear us!"

At Jace's command, they began to incorporate clapping into their chant, enthusiastically smacking their hands together as they sought to draw Ricky out.

"Did someone call my name!" Came a high-pitched voice from behind the curtain.

A grey furry paw poked free of the red velvet fabric, slowly pushing it aside as an employee in a big squirrel costume stepped onto the stage. A grey mascot with a green t-shirt and cap came out and began waving to all the children, a big cartoon smile and eyes adorning its face.

Once the kids got sight of Ricky, they became ecstatic; cheering and calling out for him while reaching out with their tiny hands.

Ricky rewarded their joy to see him with that same, plastered on smile, greeting them all from atop the stage.

"Well, hello there kiddos! Are you all here just to see me?" The mascot put a furred hand to their chest, feigning a sense of surprise.

All the kids nodded their heads.

Ricky placed his paws above his heart happily. "Really? That's so nice of you, that you all came to visit me!"

Jace watched as the employee in the costume did their best to please the kids, but he knew that they were likely in complete misery. He knew from personal experience that wearing that suit usually resulted in hours of agony.

There was one time when a co-worker of his had to leave on short notice, so he filled in for her. Shortly after donning the squirrel costume, he found that it was incredibly uncomfortable, causing his skin to itch, and his lungs craving for fresh air in that stuffy environment. And on top of that, it could get really hot in there, to the point where he would start to sweat profusely. That all happened back in October, so he hated to imaging just how much worse it would be in the middle of summer.

As Jace watched the display going on in front of him, the squirrel suddenly clasped his hands together hopefully, a gasp emanating from behind his furry face. "Do you... do you want to be friends?" Ricky asked the kids tentatively.

All the children immediately said yes, cheering and clapping at his proposal to be friends.

Ricky squealed like a giddy little girl when they said yes, jumping up and down as he let out his excitement. "You do! Oh, that makes me so happy to hear that!" He clapped his hands together again.

"hey?" The big squirrel bent down closer to the group of kids, his voice taking on a hushed tone. "Do you know what friends do?"

The kids shook their heads.

"They DANCE!" Ricky cried happily, bounding back to full height. "Do you all wanna dance?" He asked them.

All the boys and girls vigorously nodded their heads, big smiles evident on their faces.

"Great!" Ricky exclaimed with joy once more.

Watching as all the kids got excited about the prospect of dancing with Ricky, Jace took his queue to step in. "Ok kids." Jace clapped with his hands as he stepped up to the front of the stage, earning their attention. "It's time to stand up!" Following his command, the children began to get to their feet as they got off the hard ground.

Once they were all up, they stood there patiently as they awaited further instructions from either Jace or Ricky.

"Ok kids, are you all ready to dance with Ricky?" Jace asked the kids, to which they all gave a resounding yes. Jace smiled. "Alright then. To start, bring up your hands like a squirrel" Jace told them, holding his arms up and pretending to eat a nut as he mimed what they should do.

The kids did as he did, following his example. They held up their arms and pretended to be squirrels, with each of them having varying degrees of fun with it; none of them being able to keep a straight face.

Ricky took over the instructions for the next part.

"What you wanna do now!" He said to the kids in his squeaky voice. "Is raise your little butts in the air like a squirrel lifting its tale!" Ricky explained in uncomfortable detail.

Jace was _really_ glad he wasn't demonstrating this one.

Mirroring Ricky, they all held up their rear ends, the expressions on their faces being clear evidence that they were having way too much fun with what was going on. As they stayed put like that for a few seconds, the air took on a calm feeling as the kids held their position while waiting for further instructions. Suddenly, however, a light sound of hissing air pierced the silence. Jace cocked an eyebrow as he tried to figure out what was making the noise, swinging his head in several directions as he tried to decern the source.

When the hissing stopped just as abruptly as it began, Jace didn't know what to think. It was only when he noticed that several of the kids were chuckling and stifling laughs, and a chubby-cheeked kid was blushing at the seems, did he figure out what had happened. One of the children had farted.

"Pee yew!" Exclaimed a little girl with a freckled face and green dress as she waved her hand in front of her nose as she chuckled hysterically. A few others chimed in as well, adding their own comments to the pile and making farting sounds with their mouths; further embarrassing the unfortunate boy who passed gas.

"He farted!"

"Stinky!"

"My uncle farted one time, and the lady next to him passed out from the smell."

"Ok, that's enough!" Jace firmly commanded the unruly kids, intent on quelling their inappropriate behavior and sparing the chubby-cheeked boy from further embarrassment. "Settle down, all of you!"

Shaking off his discomfort with the particular move, and the events that followed. Jace took the reins once more to relay the final dance step. "Last but not least, you want to crouch down and bend forward," Jace spoke softly, showing them what to do. "And then bring out your arms and hold them out, like you're a little squirrel scampering about on the branches of a tree.

As the kids tried to perform the move, several of them could be seen struggling to pull it off. Some of the kids would repeatedly lose balance and tumble to the floor, putting out their hands to catch themselves. Luckily, none of them seemed to be hurt and they would get right back up, not a scrape or bruise on them. Despite these setbacks, they kept on trying to get it right, finding pride and accomplishment in themselves when they managed to pull it off.

"That's great!" Jace applauded them, causing them to beam at their work happily. "What I want you to do now, is take all three moves you just learned and combine them into a dance." He instructed.

As Jace and Ricky watched, the kids began to incorporate all the moves together: they held up their arms as if they were eating nuts, lifted up their imaginary squirrel tails, and scampered around on the branches of a tree.

"That's perfect!" Ricky cheered once they finished. "Now that you have the dance down, we can have our own little party! Do you like that idea?"

As the kids enthusiastically replied to Ricky and his ramblings, their eyes glued to him unwaveringly. Jace decided to take that moment as an opportunity to slip away for a minute. Slowly, Jace ebbed himself away from the group, making his way for the large velvet curtain behind them.

Pulling the fabric aside, Jace pulled open a space big enough for him to fit through and slipped backstage.

The area back here was all messy and cluttered, props and equipment lying haphazardly around the place from previous and upcoming events. Large floodlights cast a bleachy glow down on him, causing his skin to have a pasty appearance when under them.

Heading towards the back corner, he passed by a set of speakers, and a rack of old, dusty costumes. Coming up upon his desired location, he found a high, three-legged stool, and resting on its scratched wooden seat was an old stereo.

The stereo was old and beat up, its boxy body covered in dings and dents. The black paint it was originally coated in had been chipped and worn away in several spots, revealing the dull grey metal underneath, the same going for the many knobs and buttons that had seen frequent use over the years. However, despite its crappy condition and sore appearance, the one good thing about the stereo was that it still worked and functioned properly.

Lifting up the lid of the CD compartment, Jace quickly checked to make sure that there was something in there to play - which there was.

Picking the stereo up and stuffing it under an arm - the handle had come off years ago - he made sure he had a firm grip on it before going back the way he came.

Instead of going straight back toward the stage where Ricky and the kids were, he made a slight adjustment in his course and headed for a table resting against the wall. On the table - among other things - was a green, plastic box. Inside, were bags upon bags stuffed with tickets, all of them neatly folded together and held in place with rubber bands to maximize space. The tickets had been put away specifically with situations like this in mind, as a reward for the kids that partook in their events.

Snatching a couple of bags out of the box, Jace made his way back out onto the stage and was greeted by Ricky's endlessly smiling face.

"See! There he is!" Ricky declared to the children once Jace had fully stepped back out onto the stage. "I told you he'd come back!"

Jace nodded. "Yeah, I went to get these!" He said, holding up the stereo and tickets for the kids to see.

"What's that?" Asked a small boy in the crowd, his eyes and voice full of wonder.

"This!" Jace began. "Is called a stereo, and a very old one at that! If I had to wager, I'd say that it's from the nineties?" Jace mused aloud.

"What does it do?" The small boy asked again.

"Well, just like the radio in your parent's car, this old thing plays all sorts of music." He hefted the stereo up for them all to see. "And we can't have a dance party without music, now can we?"

He received a chorus of resounding "no's" and shaking heads.

Setting the stereo down on the stage, Jace powered it on and turned up the volume before starting the CD. Jace stood up as the music began to play, an infectious, toe-tapping, upbeat rhythm. "Ok then, are you all ready to dance?"

"Yeah!" they all unanimously replied.

"Alright then!" Ricky Declared excitedly. "Let's get this thing started!" As soon as he said that, Ricky immediately started them off with the dance, doing all the steps they had shown the kids. The children joined in not long after, following along after Ricky as they danced away, having fun as they did so. As they danced, Jace watched as they did moves they had learned in perfect order.

They almost effortlessly pulled off the dance as they had shown them, a somewhat semblance of grace in their movements. Eating nuts, lifting their tails, and scampering on branches, they performed all the moves successfully, multiple times over.

Jace could see the parents watching them from afar, taking videos and pictures of their children to remember this moment. And, even though, when looking back at this day, those grown-up kids might feel embarrassed for having done this, right now they didn't care. Sure, they might _look _silly, but that didn't matter to them; what did matter, was that they were having fun, and that was all that mattered.

They continued to dance like that for a few more minutes, each of the kids flailing their arms about wildly as they played. But gradually, things began to slow down, one by one, the kids began to bow out, whether from tiring out from the fun they had, or because they simply grew bored.

Once all the kids were done, Jace had them all approach the stage, where he knelt down and handed them each a big strip of tickets. Their eyes light up in joy when he gave them their prize. As they ran off to show their parents their new reward, he would catch glimpses of the happy expressions on their faces - expressions that he helped create.

...

Jace's workday was drawing to a close. After grabbing his helmet from his locker and clocking out, Jace made his way to the backdoor that led out to the employee parking lot. Pulling open the heavy metal door, Jace stepped outside and into the frigid air. He, exhaled, his breath coming out in a cloud of white steam.

Jace stepped away from the door, emerging further into the parking lot as he followed the side of the building. The parking lot they used was sandwiched into an ally between Rickys and a convenience store, which the two establishments share.

Making his way down the length of the parking lot, Jace sidestepped his way around an old station wagon that had pulled too far ahead, before coming up to an old, rusty back rack next to a chainlink fence bordering one side of the ally. The rack was mostly bare, save for an old mountain bike Jace had gotten from his father. Fishing a key from his back pocket, Jace knelt down to undo a chain he had used to lock the bike to the rack to ensure it wasn't stolen.

Storing the chain in an onboard pouch he had installed under the seat, Jace pulled his bike off the rack and preceded to mount it. Fastening his helmet atop his head of black hair, Jace made sure that it was tight and secure as he buckled the neck strap.

Before kicking off, Jace glanced upwards at the sky. The sun had already begun its long descent to the horizon far below, a quarter of the parking lot already blanketed in shadow as it sank behind Rickys.

Jace would have to get moving if he wanted to get home before dark.

Steering his bike to the parking lot's exit, Jace rode at a slow pace as he began his ride home.

Before he reached the road, he caught sight of someone coming along down the sidewalk. He was a young man, probably fresh into his first year of high school. He had his hair done up in a bowl cut with a pair of big, round, Harry Potter type glasses resting on his nose. And even though his puffy sweater, Jace could tell that the kid was a bit on the scrawny side, as the said article of clothing was a bit of a loose fit.

Holding back, he slowed to a stop on his bike as he allowed the kid to pass. Once the boy was gone and the coast was clear, Jace was about to get back on his way when two more emerged down the sidewalk.

Unlike the first kid, these two guys were buff and bulky, each of them grabbed in red and white letterman jackets, a picture of a growling cartoon wolf on the right sleeve. They strutted about with a delinquent air about them; Jace had only just seen them, but he already knew they were up to no good. As he stood there, he watched the two jocks hastily approach where the other kid had just been, mischievous grins on their faces.

Shortly after they left his field of view, Jace heard a cry of distress.

Feeling a sense of concern, Jace kicked off from where he was and sped after the two jocks. Exiting the parking lot, he rounded down the sidewalk in a hurried rush. Glancing ahead, Jace saw the two punks from before harassing and shoving the poor boy around. They were a fair distance ahead of him, and unfortunately, due to them being on a usually quiet street, it didn't seem like there was anybody currently nearby to intervene.

Quickly closing the gap between them, Jace urged himself faster, his gaze firmly locked on the two jerks as they bullied that kid. One of them, a blond one, tore the glasses off the kid's face and tossed them on the ground away from him - an amused smirk on his dumb face as he did so.

"HEY!" Jace shouted once he was within range, skidding to a halt on his bike and launching himself off as it clattered to the ground. "Leave him alone!" Jace commanded as he took off his helmet and chucked it at one of the bullies.

The two jerks paused to regard him as he stood there furiously, adamantly demanding that they release the poor boy. When they didn't oblige, he insisted again, leading to a standoff between the three of them, neither of them moving a muscle. Jace didn't take his eyes off them for a second, one of the thugs currently was holding the kid by his shirt, while the other stood between him and Jace, keeping him away.

"Let him go, _now!_ Or I'm calling the police!" Jace threatened one final time.

At this, the two jocks shared uncertain looks with each other, before seemingly coming to a silent agreement. Begrudgingly, the two of them began to back off, with the one that was holding the boy up, setting him back down. Unfortunately, the jock apparently felt he needed to get one more hit in because right after he set the boy down he gave him a hard shove. Causing the poor boy to tumble down off the curb and into a puddle of slush - a by-product brought about by the warming spring air.

Jace cursed the two out as they carelessly ambled away, not giving a damn about the kid they just shoved down.

Still seething as he watched the two thugs vacate the area, he bent down and offered his hand to the boy. Shiveringly, the boy accepted, giving his clammy hand to Jace to help him up.

"T-thanks!" The boy thanked him through chattering teeth.

Jace looked the kid over, his mouth frowning as he looked upon him in his sorry state. The boy was visible shivering from head to toe from the cold, icy water that now clung to his clothes, skin, and hair.

"Are you all right?" Jace asked worriedly hoping the kid was fine, even though he knew the kid really wasn't.

He simply nodded in response, the water clinging to him all the while. "P-physically? Yeah! But if you hadn't intervened it probably would have b-been different!" He noted grimly through the cold. "Those t-two bullies are always causing me and the other w-weaker kids at school all kinds of trouble!"

"Are you going to be okay?" Jace gestured to the boy's soggy state.

"Yeah, I'll be f-fine! I actually live not too far from here, s-so it shouldn't be too long till I'm able to change into some warm c-clothes."

"Are you okay to travel by yourself?"

"I'll m-manage." The boy reassured him. "Hey, uh...do you see my-my glasses anywhere?"

"Yeah, I'll get them," Jace said as he stepped over to where the glasses had landed and bent down to pick them up. He frowned at the glasses once he had them in hand, however. They had been scuffed up a bit from the landing, while this wasn't too big a deal, what _was_ a big deal, was the fact that the left lens had been damaged a bit, resulting in a big crack and a few small chips running the length of the innermost side.

Jace hissed through his teeth before gingerly handing the glasses back to their owner. "Their uh, a bit busted up." He said as the boy fit them on his face, blinking a couple of times to clear his sight.

The boy sighed in an upset manner." Gonna have to get a n-new pair...but, it should be able to d-do for now" The boy nodded his head at Jace appreciatively. "Thank you for your help." He said before turning to go on his way

"No problem," Jace replied. "Be careful on your way home!"

"I will!" The boy assured him.

After the kid went on his way, Jace did the same. Walking over to where his chucked helmet had landed, he picked it up and fastened it back on his head before heading back to his bike. Setting it up on its wheels, Jace mounted it and was prepared to get going...when suddenly he felt as if he was being watched.

Turning his head around, Jace craned his neck behind him as he looked back the way he came. There, standing right next to Ricky's was a big Sandwing at least as big as a bus - just watching him. Had it...been there the whole time as that kid was getting picked on...and it did nothing about it?

Jace's mind suddenly found itself racked with questions as the dragon just kept on staring at him nonstop. Feeling weirded out and uncomfortable from its endless gaze, Jace broke contact with the dragon and quickly rode away on his bike.

* * *

Amber lazed about in her small room. Laying on her bed, she stared up listlessly at the ceiling. She'd had a particularly sluggish day at school, resulting in her being all beat out and drained from the excruciatingly long day she had. She'd been presented with a pop quiz that she was unprepared for. She was flunking in history class. And to top it all of, she had gotten into an argument with a mouthy student, and after saying a couple of harsh things, was sent to the principles office where she was promptly suspended, leaving her mom furious at her.

Laying on her side, her back up against the wall, she quietly tried to let her mind and body relax after all the things she had gone through today. She let out a deep groan, her eyes silently mapping out her room as she rested there in agony. The tiny closet with all her loud clothes, the walls that had been covered in so many posters that you could barely see the pink paint underneath. And the nightstand right to her bed, with a lamp and a single picture frame.

The picture in question was of her whole family, it was the same photo as the one out in the hall, with the whole family with happy smiles on their faces. Amber growled lowly at the picture - and more specifically - at the image of her father. She glared at his smiling face as he had his arms wrapped around her and her brother, no place in the world he'd rather be.

"What are you so happy about!" She snapped at the photo bitterly. Turning over, she scooted forward towards the end of the bed and forcibly slammed the picture frame down - ceasing her view of his face.

"Where was that so-called "_love" _when you ran off with that hot European supermodel and left us in the dust? Where was that love when you took the woman you cheated on mom with and carted her off to some tropical paradise?" She cried out at the overturned frame, her voice exuding pain, sorrow, and hate. "Where was it then?"

She dropped her head into her covers and began to let out soft, muffled sobs into her sheats, past trauma coming back to haunt her as painful memories came surging back.

Did he even know or_ care_ how much what he had done hurt her, kyle, and mom? Did he ever actually love any of them? Ever think about them; or try to contact them? Judging by his actions - it didn't seem like it.

As she lay there moaning miserably, there was a knock at the door - which she promptly ignored. When there was no answer, the person on the other side of the door knocked again - and again, she ignored it. There was a third knock, and she ignored this one as well.

After several times of being ignored, the person on the other side of the door elected to simply let themselves in. Pushing the door open with a shakey creak, Ambers's mom slow stuck her head in the room, her caring face full of concern upon seeing her daughter crying on the bed.

"Amber?" She began tentatively. "Are you all right?"

At the sound of her mother's voice, Amber immediately ceased her crying. Sitting up, she wiped the tears forming in her vision, her eyes pink watery messes as she met her gaze. "No! I'm fine!" She adamantly choked out, her voice cracking as she did so.

"Ohh, baby." Her mother cooed, stepping into the room and approaching her with open arms. She crossed the gap between them, the golden rays of light pouring in through the window bouncing off her mother's floral pattern dress.

Approaching her afflicted daughter, she sat down next to Amber and snuggled up to her, pressing her warm body into hers as she wrapped her arms around the girl. Amber tried to shy away and get out of the embrace, but her mother would not allow it, stubbornly holding onto her little girl as she fought to escape.

"It's ok." Her mom cooed again, her whispery voice tickling her ear. "You don't have to hide your pain from me! I know you're hurting!"

"No, I'm not!" She objected, once more trying to escape her mother, and once more failing at it.

"Come on, honey, what is it? You don't have to hide your pain! Is it School, your boyfriend?" She paused as her gaze fell of the downturned photo, before maneuvering herself so that her brown eyes were staring right into Ambers. "Is it your father?"

Amber grew silent, her attempts to get away from her mother coming to a stop. Her head sinking down till her eyes were staring straight down at her feet, which were garbed in dark green socks. She opened her mouth, her voice coming out in but a whisper so quiet that anyone would struggle to hear it. "I don't want to talk about it!" She squeaked out.

"What was that?"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" She snapped at her mom suddenly, loud enough that she was sure she heard.

Her mom recoiled a bit from her sudden outburst, the surprise on her face evident as she backed off slightly.

Amber sighed, her voice carrying a hint of remorse at her actions as she ashamedly shirked away from her mother. "Please!" She muttered quietly, her voice lacking any strength or energy. "I _don't _wanna talk about it!"

Her mother stopped pushing after that, quietly backing off as she watched her daughter sulk miserably. "Alright!" Her mother relented, giving Amber the space she desired. "I'll stop asking."

She placed her arm on Ambers's shoulder, but she made no move to acknowledge it. "I'm sorry!"

Amber stayed quiet as her mom then got up and made her way out, the old wooden floor creaking under her weight. As she was about to exit, Amber watched as her mom came to a stop, her hand resting on the door-frame. Her mom cast her gaze back on Amber, her eyes kind and loving. She opened her mouth to speak, "I know you're hurting, but you don't have to bottle all this pain up and keep it to yourself; Please, Amber, don't feel like you're alone." She spoke softly, before walking out the door and pulling it closed behind her.

Once her mother left the room, Amber let out a sigh of relief that she was no longer on her case. She hated it whenever her mother got all into her business like that, thinking she had a problem when she didn't. Her mom didn't know what was going on inside her head, so she couldn't possibly know whats going on with her.

She wasn't in pain. While she _had_ been back when her father left, she had gotten over it. The pain she felt when her dad took off was just a distant memory; even if she _did _sometimes still feel it, that didn't mean that was ok for her mother to come barging in to try to help with something that was none of her business.

And she wasn't bottling up her feelings, she just didn't feel like spilling out the contents of her heart and soul like she might have done in the past. If she didn't want to share what was going on in her head then her mother needed to respect that; she had no right in telling her that she needed to connect with other people when she didn't feel like it.

Amber wasn't in pain. She wasn't bottling up her feelings. She was fine...right?

She groaned in annoyance, why was life so hard all the time? If it wasn't her father leaving then it was trouble at school. If it wasn't trouble at school then it was trouble with her mom. Sometimes, she wished that it would just stop, that she could cease with all the trouble and get away from everyday life for a while.

As Amber sat there on her bed complaining to herself, her eyes wandered to a shiny glint coming from between the nightstand and her bed. She sighed to herself, whether it was trouble at school. The trouble with her mom. Or trouble from a mysterious device she got from a wanted man...life _always_ had trouble.

Getting off the bed and onto her knees, she crawled to the edge of her bed and reached her arm in the crack between it and the nightstand. She had stashed the device right behind the leg of her bed, where the was a space just big enough for it to fit, and where no one would see it. Reaching back, she took hold of the device and pulled it out of its hiding spot.

She gazed down at the strange device nestled snuggly in her hands. In the few days that had passed since she first got it from that dirty man, it had already brought her boatloads of trouble. aside from all the attention, it had brought down upon her from various news sources, she had also been contacted numerous times by dragons and other representatives of their cause all asking about the device, even though she told tsunami that she didn't have it. It was like they didn't believe her...

...Of course, they had a valid reason for that, but still.

And for all the trouble this, old, rusty thing had brought her, she still had no idea why it was so important. Despite all of Ambers' attempts to get inside of it, she just could not figure out why it was so special.

She had tried everything she could think of to open it: looking for nonexistent batteries and charging ports, using a screwdriver to wedge it open, searching for an _on_ button, even bashing in around to try to force it open - but nothing worked.

She stared down at the thing in dispair. She didn't even know _what_ it was, or what it did, all she had gotten from MR. Richardson was that it was important to both the dragons and humanity, as to why she still firmly remained none the wiser.

And it was kind of driving her crazy.

There was something about this device she had that made the dragons and humans want it _really _badly...but just how far would they go to get it? Obviously, enough to where a man would break into their world to steal it...or is that even what really happened?

For being an incredibly "dangerous" man, he had sure seemed pretty beat up and on the edge of death when she found him - as if the dragons weren't telling the whole story. And on top of that, the things he told her really contradicted what the dragons said, with what him saying '_do not trust the dragons_' and '_do not believe their lies._' But _what_ were they lying about, who were they really, and how far would they go to get the device back?

Would they kill to get it back in their possession; have they _already_ killed as they sought the retrieval of this strange device?

Ever since that man told her these things, all these questions have been nagging in her brain, refusing to go away unless they're answered.

Who were the dragons really?

What was so special about this device both groups wanted?

And the one that she wanted to have answered the most...

...What kind of trouble had she found herself dragged into?

As these questions bounced around inside her head, the sound of the doorbell going off brought her back to reality.

Amber heard the sound of footsteps on the old dirty carpet as her mom approached the door, immediately followed by a creaky groan as it was pulled open.

"Can I help you?" She heard her mom ask, her voice coming off muffled due to the closed door.

"Yes, is there an _Amber Gomez _here?" A girl's voice inquired.

"Yeah, she's my daughter, do you need something from her?"

"Oh, no no! I just want to ask her a few questions that's all. If it's not too much trouble, I mean."

As Amber listened in on their conversation concerning her, she absentmindedly stashed the rusty device back under her bed before standing up and tentatively making her way to the edge of her door.

"Alright then, come on in." She heard her mom invite the girl inside before closing the door behind her.

"Amber!" Her mom called out to her. "There's someone here who wants to see you, come say hello."

Amber sighed internally, she knew what this was about. There was another news broadcaster here to interview her, they just kept on coming - and she was sick and tired of it. She had told all these different news sources all she knew, and yet they wouldn't stop coming back no matter how many times she told them that there was nothing more she could give.

"Let's get this over with." She sighed as she reluctantly opened the door.

Stepping out into the hallway, she made her way over to the kitchen where she saw her mother conversing with a young woman roughly a year older than her. Amber lazily approached the pair, slacking in her step as she unenthusiastically neared them.

Her mother's eyes were on her in an instant, popping with enthusiasm as they fell upon her. "Ahh, Amber! Come say hello to Maggie Crystals, she's come to speak with you." She said, gesturing to the girl next to her.

Amber looked upon Maggie disdainfully as the reporter she was. She had a head of black flowing locks and brown eyes that stared back at her, as well as skin that had a warm chocolatey glow.

Maggie reached her hand out towards Amber for a friendly shake. "Hello Amber, it's nice to meet you."

_The feelings, not mutual_. Amber thought dryly as she took Maggie's hand.

"I'm here on behalf of Angle Springs daily, and I'd like to get your story on the Richardson case." She held up a laminated reporter badge that hung around her neck via a lanyard.

Amber cocked one eye. "Didn't Angle Springs daily already cover this?"

"Yes. But we're looking to get a follow-up story." She replied easily.

"Ok?" She raised an eyebrow but quickly let it go.

"So, shall we sit and get this interview started?" Maggie suggested as she indicated towards the couch in the living room.

Amber nodded at that idea. "Yeah let's do that." She said, eager to get this over with.

As if on queue, Maggie immediately made her way over to the living room with Amber in tow. From behind, Amber noted the gray suit that the reporter was wearing was crisp and sleek, a far cry from the clothes she currently had on - a pair of dirty pants and a shirt that had amassed a collection of stains.

Approaching the couch, Amber sat down on its old and worn faux-leather surface, while the reporter sat down on a chair opposite her.

"Would you two girls like a snack maybe? Pizza rolls? Mozzarella sticks?" Her mom called out to the two of them after they had sat down.

"That'd be great thanks," Maggie replied back to her mom, who then in turn began digging around in the freezer looking for something to make.

"So." Maggie began, turning her nation back to Amber. "Let's get started on these questions." Maggie pulled a notepad and pencil out of one of her pockets and got ready to write down anything she was told.

"Ok. so first, how did you come to find yourself at the building where you first encountered MR Richardson?"

"I went out with some friends to explore that abandoned building that one of our group came across." She explained.

Maggie Nodded, her gaze fluctuating between Amber and the notepad. "Uh-hu. And what was your reaction when you first encountered MR Richardson?"

"Well. It was a bit of a scare." Amber confessed. "I wasn't expecting for there to be anyone else there aside from us, so when I encountered MR Richardson I panicked."

"How so?" Maggie inquired.

"I let out a lout screen when I first saw him, one that alerted my friends to where I was. And then, there was a moment where he pulled something out of a bundle of cloth, I had thought it was a gun, but it actually turned out to be..." Amber caught herself, she almost let slip the info that she knew of the device. "Nothing, it turned out to be nothing." Amber finished, saving herself in time.

"That must have been quite a traumatic experience, are you doing ok now after that happened?"

"Yes, I'm fine!" Amber snapped at the reporter. "You don't need to worry about me!"

Maggie shot her arms up placatingly. "Ok, I'm sorry! I didn't mean touch upon a nerve there. I was just asking."

"So, as I was saying." Amber began as she got back to her story, shooting the reporter a look. "After my friends showed up, we quickly contacted the authorities, and they arrived shortly after. They carted Richardson away in an ambulance, and I and my friends were subjected to question after question by dragons and reporters alike."

"That is all really fascinating." Maggie offered encouragingly as she scribbled things down on her notepad. However, her scribblings came to a halt a moment later as she looked back at Amber, curiosity in her eyes. "Hey, Amber." she began. "Before they took MR Richardson away, did he have anything in his possession, a device maybe?"

Ambers's breath hitched in her throat.

"Did you see him with a device; did he give one to you."

"N-no, no device," Amber replied hesitantly. Why did everyone want this device so badly - what was so special about it?

"Really." She asked disappointedly. "He didn't make any mention of a device, or something called the...FATED?"

Ambers skin paled. Her eyes growing wide at the mention of that word

_Did she just say?..._

The look on Ambers's face must have been all Maggie needed to see because once she heard her mention the FATED, Maggie's eyes lit up in realization.

"Ahh, so he did talk about the FATED...which means you _must_ know of the device.

Amber didn't know what to think. "Wha-? H-how did-" She narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Who are you?"

Maggie cast a quick glance back over to the kitchen, where Ambers mom was now hunched over the oven as she slipped a tray in. Turning her attention back on Amber, she leaned in close and spoke in a hushed voice. "My names, not Maggie." She admitted guiltily as she took the reporter badge off her neck. "And I'm not really a reporter, this badge is fake - I made it myself."

"Well then, who are you really?" Amber asked.

"My real name is Vanessa. Vanessa... Richardson."

Amber raised her eyes in shock, throwing them wide at this realization.

Magg- or Vanessa nodded her head, confirming Ambers suspicions before she even had a chance to ask. "Yes, as in Anthony Richardson. I'm his daughter."

Amber found herself struggling to find words that accurately described what she was thinking." W-what! Why are-"

Vanessa quickly cut Amber off. "Look, I promise that I will explain everything. But first, is there a more private place for us to talk?"

Amber looked from Vanessa to her mother in the kitchen, then from her to the hallway that led to her room. Looking back towards Vannessa, she slowly nodded her head up and down. "Yeah, I have a place. Follow me."

Getting up off the couch, Amber led Vanessa back the way they had come towards her bedroom. Passing through the kitchen, the two of them caught the attention of Ambers mom, who stopped what she was doing to speak with them.

"What's going on honey?" She asked confused as she looked at the two. "Are you both done already?"

"No mom." She waved her mother off easily." Maggie...and I were just moving to a more private location in my room. So that's where I'll be if you need me."

"Ok." Her mom nodded. "I was just asking." After that, she turned back to her work in the kitchen, leaving Amber and Vanessa the freedom to walk away.

Opening the door to her bedroom, Amber allowed Vanessa to slip in before she did the same, locking the door with a _click_ behind them.

Turning around, Amber looked to face this mysterious girl that had shown up suddenly, claiming to be a reporter. She found Vanessa currently inspecting the overturned photo frame, her fingers were floating around the edge of the object, no doubt about to set it up right out of curiosity.

"Don't touch that!" Amber snapped harshly, causing the girl's fingers to suddenly retract.

"Sorry." she apologized.

Amber shook her head in an annoyed manner before looking back at Vanessa."Alright." She began, shoving away what had just transpired. "Its time for you to start talking, what are you doing here, and why were you pretending to be a reporter?"

Vanessa gave out a short relenting sigh, nodding her head up and down as she did so. Sitting down on Ambers's bed, the fake reporter locked eyes with her and began her story.

"It all started after I snuck into the hospital in order to see my father. While I was there, he mentioned something about the FATED, and how he gave 'it' to a girl, and how 'it' 'must be protected.'" She explained. "Now, I didn't know what he meant, I _still _don't know what he meant? ...But... I _had_ heard about how a group of high schoolers had an encounter with him, so I figured that was the best place to start. I first checked on the other girl from your group, and when that revealed nothing - I found you."

Amber held her hands up suddenly, confusion plastered on her face as she halted Vanessa in her speech. "Hold on!" She started. "If you came here specifically to find out what your dad gave me, than why were you pretending to be a reporter? Why couldn't you come as yourself?"

"Because it wouldn't have been safe for me to do so." Vanessa conceded. "Several months back, my father vanished under mysterious circumstances. Now, on the day of his disappearance, I received a frantic call from him. He had told me that someone was after him; he was being chased. He sounded panicked and scared, he told me 'They' were coming; He couldn't stop mentioning 'the dragons' and 'Infiscape.' I tried to get him to calm down, to relax and speak clearly, but he wouldn't stop rambling, he kept saying that 'death' and 'destruction' was coming."

"He then told me to go into hiding, saying that 'They' would be looking for me because I was his daughter."

Amber listened to Vanessa's story intently, her full attention on this girl as she explained, not once speaking up as she spoke.

Vanessa continued. "After that, he abruptly cut off. Worried, I tried to call him back, but all I got was an answering machine. I didn't hear from him again after that, he didn't call again, and he didn't come home the next day or any of the ones following. And so realizing that something _must_ be wrong, I went into hiding per his wishes. And not long after doing so, Infascape suddenly comes out claiming to have opened a portal to a world full of dragons."

Once she had finished, all Amber could do was stand there and look down at the girl, a small pang of sorrow welling up within her.

"And that leads us back to now." Vanessa shot a serious look in Amber's direction. "As I said, my father mentioned something about 'FATED' and how he gave something to a girl. So please!" Vanessa begged, her eyes locking with Ambers. "If he gave you something, please don't keep it hidden."

Amber found herself mulling this over inside her head, was this really the best thing to do. After hearing Vanessa's story, she found herself feeling sympathy for her plight, she wanted to help but...should she? When MR. Richardson gave her the device, he told her to protect it at all costs, that meant hiding it away from the dragons and any other prying eyes that might be seeking it...but did he also intend for her to keep it hidden from his own daughter?

Amber thought it over for a few moments, the idea bouncing around inside her head as she decided what to do. Finally, she decided on what her father would most likely want.

Taking a deep sigh, Amber let her shoulders droop as she pointed underneath the bed where Vanessa was sitting.

"It's under the bed." She relented.

She watched as Vanessa followed her finger to under the bed. Getting down on her knees, Vanessa looked under the bed before reaching her arm under to grab for something. Retracting the arm, the device was exposed to light once more as Vanessa pulled it out. Getting up and sitting back down on the bed, she began to inspect the device in the same way Amber had multiple times.

Vanessa examined the object just as thoroughly as she had, turning it over to look at every angle on the device as she sought to understand it. "What does it do?" Vanessa asked inquisitively.

"I don't know!"

Vanessa was seemingly undeterred by Ambers's lackluster response, continuing to look the device over in spite of it.

"So, this is the thing my dad gave you. The thing he's so obsessed about." She flicked her eyes back up at Amber. "Did he tell you what's so special about it? Did he tell you what the FATED is, or how to operate it?"

Amber shook her head. "I don't know anything about the FATED. And he tried to tell me how to use it, but he passed out before he could."

"Well, that makes two of us," Vanessa noted grimly.

Amber folded her arms. "So what are we going to do then?"

Vanessa pursed her lips, her eyes focused on the device as she seemingly thought something over.

"Well?" Amber asked, impatience creeping into her voice at Vanessa not responding right away. "What do we do?"

Vanessa tore her eyes away from the device and cast them back onto Amber, a contemplative look on her face. "There's... someone I know who might want to see this." She said finally. "He probably won't know what this is either, but he's been looking into some strange goings-on in this town, and I know he'll want to take a look."

She sat up with the device still in hand. "He needs to see this." She declared. She passed the device back over to Amber, before turning to leave. "I'm going to leave now so I can change out of these clothes." She said gesturing to the suit. "But I'll be back in a couple of hours to pick you up, then we'll head over to his place." She cast Amber a look. "Be ready."

She then made her leave, giving a parting farewell to Ambers mom as Maggie before going out the front door.

After Vanessa left, Amber just stood there - device in hand - as she tried to take stock of what just happened.

Posing as a reporter, the daughter of MR. Richardson came to her home asking about the device he gave her. Now, Vanessa was going to be taking her and the device to see someone who had been looking into this kind of thing...apparently.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She asked herself aloud.

...

After she left, Amber simply lazed around the house for a bit as she awaited Vanessa's return. She occupied her time the best she could despite all the questions that lingered on her brain: who were they meeting, what was he looking into, and would he know anything about it. In order to avoid driving herself crazy over this, she opted to keep herself distracted by partaking in meaningless busy work around the house.

Eventually, her mother went to bed, leaving her alone in a quiet house. With her mom's eyes no longer paying attention to her, she was able to act freely without arousing suspicion. Now that she wasn't being watched, she took this opportunity to get ready.

While her mother was in bed, Amber made a point to regularly check the front window to see if Vanessa had returned yet. As she waited for her, Amber made sure to change into some fresh clothes and put on some shoes.

After a couple of hours of constantly checking the windows, she found it as a relief when a pair of headlights appeared ahead, followed by a small car rolling down her driveway. The car came to a slow halt, the engine running hot as Vanessa sat patiently in the driver's seat.

Hastening her movements, she hurried down the hallway and grabbed her coat, and slipped it on. Next, she turned to the backpack she had resting on the floor, she had placed the device inside earlier so that she had a secure place to hold it. Picking the bag up off the floor, she quietly unlocked the front door and slipped outside, silently shutting it behind her.

Once outside, the cold night air began to nip at her skin. Eager to get out of the cold, she hurriedly made her way over to Vanessa's car. Throwing open the passenger-side door, Amber ducked down as she threw her body into the warm interior of the car before pulling the door closed.

"Do you have the device?" Vanessa asked critically as Amber was buckling up, to which she responded by patting the bag she held in her lap.

Vanessa simply nodded her head in acknowledgment before putting the car in reverse and backing out of the driveway.

Amber watched the familiar setting of her home slowly fade away from sight, as Vanessa ferried her to an unknown location.

Once they departed her house, Vanessa began following a series of backroads, twisty dirt paths that wormed their way between snow-laden trees and empty backyards.

"So?" Amber began slowly. "Just who exactly is it that we're meeting?"

Vanessa drummed her fingers on the back of the steering wheel, not once taking her eyes off the dark road.

"The person we're going to meet is someone who has been looking into the strange activity going on in this town as of late. He's been trying to figure out what's been happening recently, and how it connects back to the dragons and Infiscape; aside from my dad, if anyone is going to what that device is, it's him."

"What kind of strange activity are you talking about, exactly?"

"He can explain it better, just hang tight, we'll be there shortly."

She said nothing more after that, instead keeping her lips zipped-up tight as she focused on the road.

Amber would have kept on trying to get information out of her, but she got the impression that it would be pointless. So she instead kept her mouth shut and looked out the window bored, watching as the snow-covered world passed by in a blur.

...

Around ten minutes later, Vanessa pulled up to a two-story house on the end of a dark street. Like its surroundings, there was no light coming from the property, casting the whole place in shadow. The white of the snow offered a stark contrast to the dark of the night. The house's front yard and driveway were unshoveled. There was no car and no evidence of one either, just a small path dug out through the snow big enough for one person to walk down with a little room to spare.

Turning off the engine, Vanessa took the key out of the ignition and got out of the car.

Doing the same, Amber closed the door shut behind her as she followed Vanessa. The two of them made their way down the small path carved through the snow, as she walked, Amber could make out the telltale imprints of shoes and bike tires in the powder - someone had come through here recently.

Coming up on the front door, Amber watched as Vanessa started to mercilessly rap her knuckles on the door.

Amber took a quick glance at some of the visible windows from her place on the porch, there were no lights on, no activity, no sign that whoever lived here was awake at the moment.

She looked back at Vanessa who was still unrelentingly banging on the door - unless the home's occupant was a particularly heavy sleeper, it was unlikely that would remain the case.

Finally, after around a minute of Vanessa banging on the door unceasingly, there was a change. From one of the windows, Amber saw light suddenly come streaming forth out of them, followed by the frantic sound of footsteps as the owner rushed to the door.

From the other side of the door came the sound of the deadbolt unlocking, right before the door swung open with a creak.

Standing in the open doorway was a young man roughly around their age. He had a mop of messy black hair and was dressed in pajamas.

He stood there tiredly, glossy blue eyes staring listlessly at them as he tried to take stock of the situation.

He looked at Amber confused, "who are-" Whatever he was about to say was quickly snuffed out as he laid eyes on the other person at the door. The look in his eyes went from confusion to shock instantly.

"V-Vanessa?!" He forced out breathlessly. "What are you doing here?" He glanced at Amber. "And who's this?"

"Sorry to barge in unannounced like this Jace, but we need your help."

"For what?"

"Something important has come up." Her eyes flashed to the bag at Ambers's side. "Something _extremely_ important."

The two of them shared a look before Jace's eyes lit up in understanding, something Amber was still in the dark about.

"Come on in then," Jace said, stepping out of the doorway and allowing them to enter his home.

Stepping forward, she and Vanessa took up his offer as they walked in, with Jace closing the door behind them.

Once they were out of the cold, Amber took a quick look around at the home of Jace, the one who was looking into 'strange activity. To the left of her was a tall staircase, that led up to what she assumed was a series of bedrooms and bathrooms. To her right, was a living area comprised of a kitchen and living room.

Jace walked up to the flight of stairs before turning to address the two girls. "I'm going to go change." He said, jerking his head up the stairs. "You two just make yourselves comfortable till I get back." And with those parting words, he quickly hurried up the stairs.

While this Jace guy went up to get changed, Amber wandered her way into the living room. She marveled at how big it was compared to hers, with just this one room alone probably big enough to fit _her_ living room, kitchen, and hallway with ease.

She sat down on an old couch that had seen its fair share of days. Ahead from where she sat, rested -what she had to guess - was a forty to fifty-inch TV atop a wooden shelf. Sitting next to the TV, was a base model PS4, with a plethora of games and movies scattered next to it, and even more, stored in the cubbies below.

Setting the bag down on a seat cushion next to her, Amber tried to get comfortable, but thoughts about the device and what MR. Richardson said continued to swirl around in her head. Couple that with the fact that she was now in the house of an individual who was apparently looking into odd stuff that had been going on, and it'd be no shock that she couldn't relax.

Despite the fact she wanted answers about all she had seen and heard, she was now in fact _more _anxious and desperate now that she was on the threshold of learning - at least a part - of what was _truly_ going on.

She had to get her mind off this.

Cramming her neck around, Amber tried to locate the one other person that was in the room with her.

She found that Vanessa had wandered into the kitchen and had helped herself to a can of rootbeer, which she was now sipping from as she leaned between the fridge and a door that led to the garage.

"Hey Vanessa," she called out, earning the girl's attention. "How exactly do you know this guy?"

At first, all she received from Vanessa was the sound of slurping soda as she drank from the can; pulling it away from her lips, she let out a contented _Ahh_ before facing Amber.

"Jace and I go back a ways; we met each other when we were kids. Our parents knew each other, so they introduced us." She took another drink from her soda. "A couple of years after I and Jace met, my father was hired by Infiscape right around when they were building their new headquarters. Do you remember how I told you about the circumstances under which my father went missing? Well before I went into hiding as he requested of me, I went to Jace and told him everything my dad had told me. I've been checking in with him every now and then, as he's the only one I trust enough to contact; he's also been keeping track of all the occurrences that have been happening in this town, so I make sure to find out what he knows whenever I do so."

Their thoughts were interrupted when the sound of footsteps came from the second floor. Turning their eyes to the stairs, they watched as Jace came walking back down, now dressed in a plain white t-shirt and shorts.

Stepping out into the living room, he attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes as he faced the girls. "Okay?" He said in a yawn, "what is so important that it couldn't wait until morning?"

Amber looked back at Vanessa for help, but the other girl faced her dismissively. "Don't look at me!" She shook her head. "You're the reason we're here in the first place; you're the one he needs to speak to."

"Speak to me about what?" Jace asked as he turned his gaze directly onto Amber.

Okay, this was it.

"A couple of days ago, my friends and I got into some trouble; we encountered a supposedly dangerous man and brought some attention down on ourselves." She began as she reached for her bag and opened it up. "The man, however, kept claiming that he wasn't like how they said...and he gave me this."

Amber pulled the cylindrical device free from her bag, the light shining on its rusted surface as she brought it out for all to see.

As soon as he saw it, Jaces eyes lit up in recognition. She watched as he slowly approached, seemingly in a trance as he kept his eyes glued on the device.

Jace stopped across from her and crouched down a bit to get a closer look at the device. He reached out for the device and she allowed him to take it from her. Looking it over, he gently turned it about in his grasp as he examined it.

"This man," he began slowly, his eyes still locked on the device. "Was his name Anthony Richardson?"

Amber nodded her head. "Yeah, her father!" She jerked her head in Vanessa's direction.

"So Jace!" Both he and Amber immediately turned their attention over to Vanessa who was still leaning against the wall and with her arms crossed. "You seem to know a lot about that device there, you mind filling us in?"

Jace sighed. "Of course." Passing the device back to Amber, Jace stood up and made sure they were both paying attention.

He took a breath.

"A few days ago, I, uh...snuck into the Infiscape tech headquarters, and while I was there, I came across the portal in which the dragons first used to get into our world. And through the portal...came your father Vanessa." He said leveling a glance her way. "After he came through, I saw that he was holding that device in his hands; clutching it to his chest protectively. But before I was able to confront him, the portal activated again and he ran off before anyone came through."

He looked back at Vanessa. "I would have told you as soon as possible Vanessa, but I had no way to contact you."

Vanessa simply nodded her head in understanding.

"Excuse me, Jace?" He turned to face Amber.

"Yes?"

"I... have some questions."

"Okay then, shoot." Jace gave the go-ahead.

"The things I kept hearing about MR. Richardson was that he was bad, everyone kept saying he was dangerous, a terrorist. Yet once I actually met him, and he gave me the device, he told me that everything being said about him were lies. And when I met Vanessa here." She nodded her head at the other girl. "She told me that her father disappeared mysteriously and that she had to go into hiding because of it. Then she told me, that _you_ have been looking into strange activity in this town lately."

Jace nodded his head, "Okay, so what is it you want to know?"

"When Vanessa's father gave me that device, I was unwillingly dragged into something I had no part in, and I want to know what I've gotten myself into, and why; I want answers!"

Jace narrowed his eyes. "I never did get your name, did I?"

"It's Amber."

"Well then Amber, if you want answers, then follow me." He said before turning around and making for the stairs. When Amber didn't follow right away, Jace stopped at the base of the stairs and urged her on. "Come on then! Do you want answers or no?"

At his insistence, Amber got up from on the couch and made her way over to Jace as Vanessa joined them. Together the three of them made their way up the stairs.

Ambers mind was racking and her heart beating, she was on the verge of finally getting some information after sitting on all these questions for so long with answers for them. The moment where she found out the truth couldn't come soon enough.

Reaching the top, Jace led them into a hallway that was almost completely bare, with the only thing in it being a lone bookshelf. Approaching the bookshelf, Jace took hold of the side and began to push on it to slide it out of the way.

Amber was confused, what the heck was Jace doing? He was supposed to be showing her what was going on, yet he was now pushing on a bookcase? How was that supposed to help?

As Jace gradually moved the bookcase out the way, Ambers's newfound doubt in him began to fade away as something started to emerge from behind the shelf.

With one final shove, Jace moved the bookcase completely out of the way, fully revealing what had been behind it. As Jace stepped back to admire his handy work, Amber could only gaze in awe at what had been revealed.

It was a door.

A secret door that had been hidden behind the bookcase to keep it away from prying eyes.

Pulling open the door, Jace let it swing out, exposing a dark room to them all. Stepping up to the door, Amber peer inside in the dark interior of the room, she couldn't see much as the light from the hallway didn't offer much illumination.

And then, Jace came in behind her and turned on the light.

And could she just say - wow!

The entire room was pretty much just one, big conspiracy board; countless photos of various people lined the walls, as well as pictures of dragons and Infiscape employees, all of them connected by strands of red yarn.

This was just...wow!

Amber was really overwhelmed; she didn't know what to think. She wandered into the center of the room as she took it all in, she didn't even know what it all meant, but she could sure appreciate the grandness of it all.

As she made her way forward, she noticed a series of indentations on the carpeted floor in several spots, most notably the four in the center back of the room where a bed had most likely been. And that would mean that this had been a bedroom, Jace had converted a bedroom into a full-blown conspiracy room and had hidden it from sight.

And it was all really impressive.

Snapping herself out of her awed stupor, Amber spoke. "What? What is all this?"

She heard the door they had come in through close and turned to see that Vanessa had shut it behind them.

"Amber," Jace began, walking up to her. "Do you see all the photos on the wall, the ones of regular people, not the ones with dragons or Infiscape employees?"

Amber nodded her head. "yeah, what about them?"

"Do you know what they all have in common?"

"No, what?"

Jace gestured to all the pictures. "They're all _missing!_"

Amber mental reeled at that revelation, they were missing? She looked at all the photos on the wall, only a fraction of them were dragons or Infiscape employees, the rest were ordinary people.

"That's a _lot_ of people!" She exclaimed breathlessly.

"Yeah, it is!" Jace agreed.

"What's going on! doesn't anybody know these people are missing?" Amber wondered aloud.

"It all started with my father - AKA, Victim Zero!" Vanessa supplied as she stepped up beside them. She pointed to a section of the wall that she hadn't noticed before, unlike the other parts of the large conspiracy board, it was dedicated to one person - MR. Richardson.

"Nine months ago," Jace started. "MR. Richardson - or Victim Zero - was the first of many to go missing - it all started with him. On the day he disappeared, he called Vanessa warning her about dragons, and shortly after he vanished - and it didn't help that he did so under Infiscapes watch.

"So fast forward about six months, and Infiscape comes out claiming to have opened a portal to another world - a world full of _dragons_ no less! Exactly what he had been rambling about before he disappeared. And then, people start disappearing left and right, constantly, and no-one seems to notice. I'm convinced that it's either Infiscape, the dragons, or maybe both that are behind this, and that they're doing everything they can to cover it up.

"The one thing I _am_ certain of, however, is that it all started with Anthony Richardson - somehow he's found himself of the very center of all this! Jace finished.

Amber could barely believe all that Jace had just told her, to think that had all been happening under everyone's noses, she just - she couldn't believe it.

"It all makes sense now!" Amber said, more to herself than Jace or Vanessa. "When I encountered MR. Richardson and he gave me the device, he told me to not trust the dragons, he told me that they are not who they say they are and that we shouldn't believe their lies! He knew the truth about them all along!"

"And it helps in reinforcing my theory about the dragons and Infiscape being behind all this," Jace added in.

"What about the people that have gone missing; What's been happening to them?" Amber asked.

Jace shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly have no idea, I've looked, but I just can't seem to find any leads on what's happening to them. Although, when I was at the Infiscape headquarters, I did find mention of a 'Project Darius" something that they're building alongside the dragons."

"However, the one thing I know for certain," Jace continued. "Is that something sinister is going on in this town, and as far as I'm aware - we're the only ones that know about it!"

Amber glanced around once more at the conspiracy room, at the pictures of all the missing men and women, the people that had gone missing and no-one noticed - not even her. She thought back to that day when MR. Richardson gave her the device, and how he warned her to beware the dragons. Back then, she desperately wanted to know what he meant, and now that she had the answers she had wanted, she kind of wished she didn't.

A part of her really wished that she had stayed home that day.

* * *

**AH HAHA HELLO BOYS, I'M BAACK!**

**Here's another chapter for you all, did you catch the reference? I'm sure it's _very_ hard to spot. ;)**

**Hey people, I need some help, if you like this story and want to help in its development, I'm in need of a beta. Now I won't just take anyone, I want someone who can help with grammar, point out any plotholes, help with the story structure if it needs work at times, basically I just want someone who can help me make this story be the best it can be. Also, I want someone who doesn't have a tight schedule, if you beta for me, I want you to have a schedule loose enough that I can get the chapter back at ten days at the latest.**

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